MANSLAUGHTER AND MURDER

Attempted murder

There are four categories of attempted murder. The standard non-parole period for this offence is 10 years.

  Acts done with intent to commit murder

If you administer to, or causes to be taken by, any person any poison, or other destructive thing, or by any means wounds, or causes any grievous bodily harm to any person, with intent in any such case to commit murder, you are liable to 25 years imprisonment.

  Acts done to property with intent to commit murder

If you set fire to any vessel, or chattel therein, or any part of her tackle apparel or furniture, or casts away or destroys any vessel, or by the explosion of gunpowder, or other explosive substance, destroys, or damages any building, or places, or throws, any matter or thing upon or across a railway, or removes, or displaces, any sleeper or thing belonging to a railway, with intent in any such case to commit murder, you are liable to 25 years imprisonment.

A chattel is an object e.g. bed, table, paperwork, vase, etc.

  Certain other attempts to murder

If you attempt to administer to, or cause to be taken by, any person any poison, or other destructive thing, or shoots at, or in any manner attempts to discharge any kind of loaded arms at any person, or attempts to drown, suffocate, or strangle any person, with intent in any such case to commit murder, shall, whether any bodily injury is effected or not, you are liable for 25 years imprisonment.

  Attempts to murder by other means

If you, by any other means, attempts to commit murder you are liable to 25 years imprisonment.

Defences to murder

Extreme provocation:

Extreme provocation is a partial defence to a charge of murder. Extreme provocation occurs when:

  The act of the accused that causes death was in response to conduct of the deceased against towards or affecting the accused, and

  The conduct of the deceased was a serious indictable offence, and

  The conduct of the deceased caused the accused to loose self-control, and

  The conduct of the deceased could have caused an ordinary person to loose self-control to the extent of intending to kill or cause grievous bodily harm on the deceased.

  The act of the deceased does not need to have occurred immediately before the act causing death.

Substantial impairment by abnormality of mind:

      At the time of the act or omission causing death, the person’s capacity to understand events, or to judge whether their actions are right or wrong, or to control himself/herself, was substantially impaired by abnormality of the mind arising from an underlying condition, and

  The impairment was so substantial as to warrant liability for murder being reduced to manslaughter.

  Impairment by abnormality of mind does not apply where the abnormality of mind was caused by self-induced intoxication.

  It is up to you to prove impairment by abnormality of mind. This will require specialist medical reports to support your defence.

Self-defence:

A defence of self-defence may be available if you believe your conduct is necessary:

  To defend yourself or another person, or

  To prevent or terminate the unlawful deprivation of your liberty or the liberty of another person, or

  If the use of force is excessive and results in death, it will result in a charge of manslaughter not murder.

Battered womens syndrome is not a defence to murder or manslaughter, however, it is a recognised psychological condition that results in a woman who has been the victim of sustained domestic violence. It may explain the events leading up the offence and assist during sentencing.