Homicide

The law of homicide deals with the unlawful killing of a human being by another human being. There are essentially two types of homicide: murder and manslaughter. The crime of infanticide may also be included.

Murder

Murder can be defined as the killing of a person without lawful excuse and with the intention to kill that person or to cause them grievous bodily harm. Therefore, in order for the offence of murder to exist there must be two elements. Firstly, there must be a physical act (or omission) which results in the death of a person, known as the actus reas . Secondly, there must be a mental element or an actual intention to cause death by way of the act. This is known as the mens rea. Both the physical and the mental elements must be present in order for a person to be found guilty of the crime of murder.

Under Anguillian law a person found guilty of murder is liable to be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Manslaughter

Manslaughter is generally regarded as a less serious offence than murder. The Criminal Code of Anguilla provides that a person found guilty of manslaughter is liable to be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Like murder, in order for manslaughter to be proven there must be a physical act or omission resulting in death. Unlike murder, however, the crime of manslaughter does not involve an actual intention to cause death. Instead, there must be some degree of recklessness or negligence which the law regards as being so serious that it warrants punishment.

Defences

Some common defences to the crimes of murder and/or manslaughter are:

(a) Provocation – this may be a defence to murder in so-called “crimes of passion” (for example, where a husband walks in on his wife and her lover) or where a person is suddenly provoked to such a extent that they temporarily lose their self-control and their ability to think rationally. They may be found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder.

(b) Insanity – this is where a person claims that because of his mental state at the time of the act, he should not be held accountable for his actions. A person putting forward an insanity defence is normally looking to be committed for treatment for his mental disease instead of imprisonment

(c) Self defence – in this case, the defendant claims that a killing is not unlawful because it was necessary in order to prevent him from being killed by the deceased.

Infanticide

Where a woman willfully causes the death of her child which is under 12 months old, but at the time her mental mental balance was disturbed by the after-effects of giving birth or by the effect of lactation as a result of the birth, she is guilty of infanticide. This crime is treated in a similar way to manslaughter.

Alex Richardson is Managing Partner of the law firm Alex Richardson & Associates, P O Box 371, Babrow Building, The Valley, Anguilla, Tel: 264 498 4224, Fax: 264 498 4220, email: arichardson@anguillanet.com. He is also Managing Director of Paragon Corporate Services Ltd.