The defendant shot an airgun at a group of people. He hit someone just below the eye, causing bruising, but not breaking the skin. One blood vessel at least below the skin burst.
Held: His conviction was set aside. A conviction under section 20 for wounding required evidence of a break in the continuity of the skin. A scratch is insufficient, there needed to be a breach in the whole of the skin, and not merely the outer layer called the epidermis or the cuticles, in order to establish a wound.
Citations:
[1983] 3 All ER 230, [1983] Crim L R 567
Statutes:
Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 20
Citing:
Applied – Regina v Levi Warman 1846
An indictment for murder, by inflicting a mortal wound, is supported by proof of a blow, which caused an internal breach of the skin, though externally there were only the appearances of a bruise. Quaere, Whether such an allegation would have been . .
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Brown (Anthony); Regina v Lucas; etc HL 11-Mar-1993
The appellants had been convicted of assault, after having engaged in consensual acts of sado-masochism in which they inflicted varying degreees of physical self harm. They had pleaded guilty after a ruling that the prosecution had not needed to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 12 May 2022; Ref: scu.182084
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