Voluntary manslaughter: loss of control

Overview

Voluntary manslaughter, three elements of loss of control and two qualifying triggers.

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

   What is voluntary manslaughter?

   Model answer

   Voluntary manslaughter is a killing that satisfies the full definition of murder but is reduced to manslaughter because a partial defence succeeds.

2. 2

   Which statute created the defence of loss of control?

   Model answer

   The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 created loss of control, replacing the older defence of provocation from October 2010.

3. 3

   State the three elements of loss of control.

   Model answer

   The defendant must have lost self-control, the loss must be attributable to a qualifying trigger, and a person of the defendant's sex and age with normal tolerance and self-restraint might have reacted in the same way.

4. 4

   Name the two qualifying triggers.

   Model answer

   A fear of serious violence from the victim against the defendant or another identified person, and things said or done of an extremely grave character giving the defendant a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged.

5. 5

   Must the loss of self-control be sudden?

   Model answer

   No, the 2009 Act expressly provides that the loss of control need not be sudden, which assists defendants who kill after a long period of abuse.

6. 6

   Why was the removal of the suddenness requirement significant?

   Model answer

   Under provocation any delay suggested the killing was revenge, which disadvantaged victims of prolonged domestic abuse whose reaction built up slowly over time.

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