Essay On Tony Killing Alan

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Test paper 3 Tony is liable for killing Alan as he committed the actus reus and committed murder this is an act as a weapon was used to murder Alan (the hammer) he is liable because murder is a result crime and it has to be proven that the defendants actions caused the victims death. The 2 elements have to be proven for the offence to be committed Actus Reus and Mens Rea the judge must prove this beyond reasonable doubt. Tony is liable for this crime because it is the unlawful act of killing a human being so Alans death was caused by Tony meaning he is liable for murder. The prosecution must prove this both factually and legally. Tony is liable because Alan’s death would not have occurred if he had not hit Alan over the head with a…show more content…
Defence with necessity cannot be justified for murder and the defence has not proven to be very successful at this time. The defence of necessity has been recognised by civil courts one case is RE F 1990 mental patient sterilisation applied to sterilise a mentally handicapped young girl, who had formed a relationship with another patient her mother supported the application the solicitor acting on behalf of the girl believed the operation was illegal. The house of lords granted this application stating that it was lawful and necessary to do this on people who were unable to give consent. Necessity is where the defendant commits the act to prevent a more serious crime from happening and duress is where someone commits the act due to threats and threatening behaviour. Threatening to harm him or someone else is completely different from trying to prevent a bigger crime from happening by committing an act. After a 10 year period of uncertainty of trying to decide whether duress was an acceptable defence in court the house of lords finally decided that it is not the most comprehensive test of this is illustrated in the case R V Graham 1982 this suggests the test can be applied in any situation despite this being a murder case. When defendant has arisen duress. The law on this can be different as these 2 issues coming up in court can make it illegal but cannot constitute a crime due extraordinary circumstances. Some courts look at the 2 of these and merge them into one defence.

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