Cambridge BA: Murder, Manslaughter & Causation Exam Paper

Alice discovers that her husband Bob has been having an affair with her best friend Carol for three years. In a fit of rage, Alice confronts Bob at their home, screaming accusations and throwing objects. Bob admits to the affair and tells Alice he wants a divorce to be with Carol. Alice runs to the kitchen, grabs a large knife, and stabs Bob once in the chest, shouting 'You've destroyed everything!' Bob collapses and dies within minutes. Alice immediately calls 999, sobbing 'I didn't mean to kill him, I just wanted him to feel the pain I felt.' At the police station, Alice's solicitor argues she was suffering from diminished responsibility due to severe depression following the discovery of the affair. Medical evidence shows Alice had been prescribed antidepressants six months earlier but had stopped taking them. A psychiatrist diagnoses Alice with a major depressive episode substantially impairing her ability to form rational judgments or exercise self-control. However, evidence emerges that Alice had searched online for 'quick divorce settlements' and 'life insurance payouts after death' two weeks before the killing. The prosecution argues this demonstrates premeditation. Consider Alice's liability for homicide offences, analyzing all possible defenses and charges.

David, a professional boxer, is drinking heavily at his local pub following his defeat in an important match earlier that evening. Several patrons mock his performance, with Eric shouting 'You're washed up, David! My grandmother could fight better!' David, already intoxicated, becomes increasingly agitated. When Eric continues the taunts and pushes David's shoulder saying 'Go on then, show us what you've got,' David snaps and punches Eric once in the face with considerable force. Eric, who unknown to David suffers from a rare condition called 'glass jaw syndrome' making his skull unusually fragile, falls backward, strikes his head on a concrete pillar, and suffers massive brain trauma. Eric dies in hospital three days later. CCTV footage shows David's punch, while forceful, was a single blow that would not normally cause serious injury to an average person. Witnesses confirm Eric was the primary aggressor in the verbal exchange and made the first physical contact. David's trainer later testifies that David had mentioned feeling 'destroyed and worthless' after losing the match, and had been drinking to 'numb the pain of failure.' Medical experts confirm that without Eric's rare condition, the punch would have caused only minor bruising. The prosecution argues David's boxing training makes him more dangerous than an ordinary person, and he should have exercised greater restraint. Analyze David's potential liability for homicide offenses.

The law of involuntary manslaughter has been criticized as both excessively broad and inadequately coherent, encompassing deaths arising from widely disparate circumstances and levels of culpability. Critically evaluate this statement, considering whether the current categories of involuntary manslaughter provide an appropriate framework for determining criminal liability for unintentional killing.

'The partial defenses to murder introduced by the Homicide Act 1957 and amended by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 have failed to achieve their intended purpose of ensuring that only the most culpable killers face the mandatory life sentence for murder.' Discuss this statement with particular reference to diminished responsibility and loss of control.