The applicant was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1992 for a brutal murder. He had pleaded diminished responsibility. There were now no papers from the trial. Medical evidence now suggested that at the time of the trial he would have suffered a personality disorder and depression.
Held: If this evidence were called at a trial of the appellant it might reasonably have affected the decision of the jury. In the circumstances this evidence provides another reason for concluding that the verdict of the jury was unsafe. The court imposed a substituted conviction of manslaughter and an order under the Mental Health Act for his continued detention.
Judges:
Lord Justice Gage Mr Justice Forbes Dame Heather Steel DBE
Citations:
[2006] EWCA Crim 819
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Dietschmann HL 27-Feb-2003
Voluntary drunkenness No Diminished Responsibility
The defendant had been convicted of murder. At the time of the assault, he was both intoxicated to the point of losing his inhibitions and was also suffering an abnormality of mind sufficient substantially to reduce his mental responsibility.
Cited – Regina v Derek William Bentley (Deceased) CACD 30-Jul-1998
The defendant had been convicted of murder in 1952, and hung. A court hearing an appeal after many years must apply laws from different eras to different aspects. The law of the offence (of murder) to be applied was that at the time of the offence. . .
Cited – Regina v Andrews CACD 15-Oct-2003
The defendant sought leave to appeal her conviction for murder saying that a finding of manslaughter was appropriate for her diminished responsibility.
Held: There was insufficient evidence to establish that the judge’s directions on the . .
Cited – Regina v Gittens CACD 1984
Lord Lane set out the directions to be given to a jury on the defence of diminished responsibility: ‘Where a defendant suffers from an abnormality of mind arising from arrested or retarded development or inherent causes or induced by disease or . .
Cited – Regina v Gilbert CACD 2003
The court reviewed a number of authorities which deal with the correct approach by the court when asked to receive evidence pursuant to section 23. . .
Cited – Regina v Egan CACD 1992
The court considered the appropriate directions to a jury in diminished responsibility defence to murder charge.
Watkins LJ said: ‘In R v Lloyd . . directions as to the word ‘substantial’, to the effect that (1) the jury should approach the . .
Cited – Regina v Atkinson 1-Mar-1985
Jury Directions in diminished responsibility case. . .
Cited – Kelvin Dial (otherwise called Peter), Andrew Dottin (otherwise called Maxwell) v The State PC 14-Feb-2005
(Trinidad and Tobago) Two defendants appealed against their convictions for murder. The principal witness who had identified them, had retracted his evidence, but the retraction had not been believed. He was then shown to have lied.
Held: The . .
Cited – Regina v Pendleton HL 13-Dec-2001
The defendant had appealed his conviction for murder to the Court of Appeal. The 1968 Act required the court to consider whether the conviction was unsafe. New evidence was before the Court of Appeal, but they had rejected the appeal.
Held: . .
Cited – Regina v Hakala CACD 2002
The court discussed the correct approach of the Court of Appeal to new evidence on appeal: ‘However the safety of the appellant’s conviction is examined, the essential question, and ultimately the only question for this Court, is whether, in the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 05 July 2022; Ref: scu.240367