GBH and Wounding

• s20 OAPA 1861 - 5 years imprisonment
• Definition ' Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any GBH upon any other person either with or without a weapon or instrument shall be guilty of an offence and liable for imprisonment for no longer than 5 years'
• Act must be unlawful unless there was consent and specific exceptions ( Melin )
• A wound = is a cut or a break in the continuity of the whole skin
• No cut no wound ( Eisenhower )
• GBH is really serious harm ( DPP v Smith )
• Harm does not need to be life threatening ( Saunders )
• Severity of the injury's should be assessed according the the victims age and health ( Bollom )
• Serious psychiatric injury can be GBH

  Infliction means cause - Defendants conduct causes the consequence ( Burstow )
• Inflicting a disease - HIV = Biological GBH ( Dica )
• can happen through an indirect act ( DPP v K )
• Can happen through a continuing act ( Fagan v MPC )
• Defendant had either a) intent to cause some harm

  b) subjective recklessness as whether some harm was caused ( Savage )