Murder, Attempted Murder, Manslaughter
At Murrays our solicitors have extensive experience of defending Murder, Attempted Murder and Manslaughter cases and will represent you from the beginning of the police investigation right through to Crown Court and the Court of Appeal.
If you or someone you know has been accused of any of the above offences it is vital that they contact one of our experienced solicitors at the earliest opportunity.
Murder
Murder is when a person of sound mind unlawfully kills any human being with an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (under the Queens Peace). To be convicted of Murder the prosecution must show that the defendant killed with malice aforethought. In other words there must have been an intention to
either kill or cause grievous bodily harm. Murder carries a mandatory life sentence if convicted which means that the presiding Judge has no discretion to offer a lesser sentence. Murder trials are always tried at Crown Court in front of a Judge and Jury.
As well as complete defences such as an alibi or self defence there are partial defences that may reduce the offence to voluntary manslaughter if they are argued successfully. These include loss of control, diminished responsibility and killing in pursuance of a suicide pact.
Attempted Murder
Attempted Murder is defined in law as when a person has the intention to kill and has done something more than preparatory to commit the killing. In other words the accused must have done something other than merely prepare to commit unlawful killing. The act has to be serious enough that death could have resulted from it and there must have been intent to kill. If convicted of attempted murder the court may impose a discretionary life sentence.
Involuntary Manslaughter
There are two broad categories of involuntary manslaughter which are “Unlawful act manslaughter” i.e. killing by an unlawful act likely to cause bodily harm and “Gross Negligence Manslaughter”
For the prosecution to successfully argue Unlawful Act Manslaughter they must prove that the defendant committed an act which is unlawful (e.g. arson, criminal damage), that this act was dangerous (in the view of a sober and reasonable person) and that the harm likely to result from this unlawful act must be physical harm.
Where a person causes death through extreme carelessness or incompetence then they may be charged with Gross Negligence manslaughter. This is generally defined as a failure to exercise a reasonable level of caution given the circumstances and can include acts and omissions. The defendants in such cases are usually people carrying out jobs that require special skills or care such as Doctors, teachers, prison officers or electricians who fail to meet the standard which could be expected from a reasonable person of the same profession and cause death.
Here at Murrays Solicitors we will ensure that we explore every single avenue and leave no stone unturned to ensure a strong defence against charges of Murder, Attempted Murder or Manslaughter. Our solicitors have extensive experience in these fields and will use the most up to date methods and experts including DNA, ballistics and forensics to secure the best result for our clients.
