Voluntary manslaughter: diminished responsibility

Overview

Four elements of diminished responsibility as reformed and three abilities that must be substantially impaired.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which statute created diminished responsibility, and which reformed it?

   Model answer

   The Homicide Act 1957 created the defence, and the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 rewrote it in modern medical terms.

2. 2

   State the four elements of diminished responsibility as reformed.

   Model answer

   An abnormality of mental functioning, arising from a recognised medical condition, which substantially impaired the defendant's ability to do one of three specified things, and which provides an explanation for the killing.

3. 3

   Name the three abilities that must be substantially impaired.

   Model answer

   The ability to understand the nature of one's own conduct, the ability to form a rational judgment, and the ability to exercise self-control.

4. 4

   Why was recognised medical condition introduced in place of the older wording?

   Model answer

   The 1957 formula about arrested development and inherent causes was medically outdated, and the new wording ties the defence to accepted psychiatric diagnosis.

5. 5

   What does substantially impaired mean?

   Model answer

   R v Golds (2016) held that substantially means important or weighty, and does not mean merely more than trivial.

6. 6

   How was abnormality of mind described in R v Byrne (1960)?

   Model answer

   It was described as a state of mind so different from that of an ordinary human being that a reasonable person would call it abnormal, covering the ability to control physical acts as well as perception and reasoning.

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