Vol. M/S - Loss of Control

• How to prove Loss of Control:


  A person is not to be convicted of murder if:

  1. D's acts or omissions in doing or being a party to the killing resulted from D's loss of self control;
  2. The loss of self control had a qualifying trigger; and
  3. A person of D's age and sex might have acted in the same or similar was to D.

  Battered wives syndrome: Ahluwalia 1992
• Examples of evidence to show that someone had lost control:

  s54 a) Heavy breathing, shaking, running, red face, shouting and screaming, "in a rage", acting out of proportion to the situation, look on their face, starting to turn around and then coming back.
• What is a qualifying trigger?

  s55 sets out a number of criteria which will count as suitable triggers for the defence.

  • D's fear of serious violence from V against D or another (Ahluwalia)/(Martin Anthony)
  • A thing said or done which (R v Doughty):

  1. Constituted grave circumstances; and
  2. Caused D to have a justified sense of being wronged

  Can be combination of 1. and 2.
• What is NOT a qualifying trigger?

  Non-triggers:

  • Sexual infidelity (cheating) - Ibrams and Gregory
  • Pre-planned revenge - Baillie
• What is the standard of self control?

  "a normal person of D's sex, age, and normal degree of tolerance" (Camplin)

  If it can be shown that such a person would have acted in a similar or same way it shows a measurable standard.

  "Normal person" - (Hill).

  More individual circumstances can be used to show reason for provocation but not standards of self control (Gregson).