A2 Assessment Page                                                              Law Home Page

Offences Against the Person

1. OCR, Essay question

Discuss whether the common law governing the offence of murder is satisfactory or is in need of reform by Parliament.

(Do not consider causation issues in answering this question) [50]

2. OCR, Case Scenario

Holly lives with Ian. Ian frequently hits Holly. He threatens that is she tries to leave him she will “pay”. One evening Holly and Ian argue and Ian calls her “a worthless slave”. Ian goes to bed. Holly watched television for two hours and drinks a bottle of vodka. On her way to the bedroom Holly takes a knife from the kitchen and, seeing Ian asleep, stabs him in the chest killing him instantly.

Evaluate the accuracy of each of the four statements A, B, C, and D individually, as they apply to the facts in the above scenario. [20]

Statement A: Holly cannot plead provocation as a defence to a charge of murder because there is no evidence that she has been provoked.

Statement B: Holly still cannot successfully plead provocation as a defence because her loss of self control was not ‘immediate’.

Statement C: Holly will be successful in reducing her potential conviction for murder to voluntary manslaughter because she lost her self-control.

Statement D: Holly will be successful in reducing her potential conviction from murder to manslaughter by pleading intoxication as a defence.