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This open access book is the culmination of many years of research on what happened to the bodies of executed criminals in the past. Focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it looks at the consequences of the 1752 Murder Act. These criminal bodies had a crucial role in the history of medicine, and the history of crime, and great symbolic resonance in literature and popular culture. Starting with a consideration of the criminal corpse in the medieval and early modern periods, chapters go on to review the histories of criminal justice, of medical history and of gibbeting under the Murder Act, and ends with some discussion of the afterlives of the corpse, in literature, folklore and in contemporary medical ethics. Using sophisticated insights from cultural history, archaeology, literature, philosophy and ethics as well as medical and crime history, this book is a uniquely interdisciplinary take on a fascinating historical phenomenon.
This consultation paper reviews the law relating to homicide in England and Wales, and sets out a number of provisional proposals in order to establish a more rational and coherent framework of legislation. Issues discussed include: the existing law and problems with it; the definition of murder and manslaughter; partial defences including provocation, diminished responsibility and duress; the fault element in murder and the concept of intention; and the doctrine of double-effect. The paper proposes the creation of a new Homicide Act (to replace the Homicide Act 1957) to establish clear definitions of murder and the partial defences to it, as well as defining manslaughter, within a graduated system of offences (the ladder principle) to reflect seriousness of offence and degrees of mitigation. For example, the offence of murder should be divided into two categories, of 'first degree murder' (with a mandatory life sentence) and 'second degree' (with a discretionary life sentence maximum). Responses to the consultation paper proposals should be received by 13.04.2006.
Written by two of the UK’s leading experts on the law of homicide. Contains new information and analysis. Suggests a radical new solution to the ‘mess’ which English homicide law has become. In this powerful account, the authors show that—from Sir Edward Coke’s classic common law definition of murder, through political fixes, poorly thought-out compromises and misguided legislative or Executive tinkering—the English law of homicide is in ‘a mess’. Even the most adept legal minds are faced with what has been described in Parliament as ‘fine lines and distinctions’. What must juries make of messy laws and how can anyone have confidence in criminal justice if laws affecting some of the most serious offences in the criminal calendar are deeply flawed? To make matters worse, the entire subject of homicide in England and Wales is further distorted by the existence of the mandatory life sentence for murder. Building on unrivalled knowledge, extensive research, close practical observation and incisive analysis, Professor Terence Morris and Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC trace the development of the law of homicide from early times to the present day. They counter and dismantle specious arguments for preserving the status quo and point out that only root and branch reform of the basis of liability for homicide and its sentencing regime will serve to restore justice, fairness and political probity. Professor Terence Morris and Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC are two of the UK’s leading experts on the law of homicide, having studied developments together for over 50 years. This has led them to recognise the extent of disquiet, especially following ‘particularly troubling cases’ and to conclude that the law of homicide in England and Wales is ‘an unsatisfactory law enveloped in a political fix’. Their suggestion of a replacement single offence of criminal homicide coupled with abolition of the mandatory life sentence for murder in favour of discretion at the sentencing stage demands close study by judges, lawyers, legislators, academics, penal reformers and anyone who senses that something is seriously amiss. 'This is no dry legal tome. The authors present their case in a bracing, persuasive and highly readable way... This is an important and stimulating work that should engage not just the legal practitioner, politician or law student but anyone concerned with our justice system or puzzled by the conduct and outcome of a murder trial': guardian.co.uk 'Fine Lines and Distinctions prompted me to pay more attention to and reflect further on those who have killed. Though its primary focus is the law - specifically a potentially significant improvement to the law - I also warmly recommend it to anyone interested in lifers': Independent Monitor 'This timely, provocative and certainly topical book puts forward a closely argued and well supported case for encouraging "a root and branch reform of the law of homicide" ... [and] provides ample evidence and ammunition to those who would agree that such a reform should be put in place as a matter of urgency': by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers.
What makes murder, murder? How should we understand the difference between intentional and reckless killing? Should offenders be punished differently according to the perceived severity of their crime and when should they be excused? These questions are the topic of intense debate within legal circles and beyond in the UK, the US, and the rest of world. Jeremy Horder's role as the Law Commissioner for England and Wales on criminal law has given him unique insight into these questions and the debates surrounding them. Here he analyses the recent political and legal reform movements, offering a political history of homicide law reform from the 19th century to the modern era. Using homicide as a starting point, Horder raises deeper questions of who is and should be responsible for making and changing the law. What role should there be for expert bodies, judges, and politicians? What role should there be for the general public? These questions invoke strong emotional responses. Horder argues that comprehensive research into, and a degree of difference to, public opinion on the scope of homicide is essential to the reform process. It is essential principally as a means of conferring true legitimacy on homicide reform in a democracy. Elite or expert opinion alone will never authentically secure such legitimacy. Offering an insider's view into the processes of achieving law reform, Horder expresses criticism of a system that excludes the vast majority of people from consultation on reform of the laws that govern them.
A number of jurisdictions world-wide have changed or are considering changing their homicide laws. Important changes have now been recommended for England and Wales, and these changes are an important focus in the book, which brings together leading experts from jurisdictions across the globe (England and Wales; France; Germany; Scotland; Australia; The United States of America; Canada; Singapore and Malaysia) to examine key aspects of the law of homicide. Key areas examined include the structure of the law of homicide and the meaning of fault elements. For example, the definition of murder, or its equivalent, is very different in France and Germany from the definition used in England and Wales. French law, like the law in a number of American states, ties the definition of murder to the presence or absence of premeditation, unlike the law in England and Wales. Unlike most other jurisdictions, German law makes the killer's motive, such as a sadistic sexual motive, relevant to whether or not he or she committed the worst kind of homicide. England and Wales is in a minority of English-speaking jurisdictions in that it does not employ the concept of 'wicked' recklessness, or of extreme indifference, as a fault element in homicide. Understanding these often subtle differences between the approaches of different jurisdictions to the definition of homicide is an essential aspect of the law reform process, and of legal study and scholarship in the criminal law. Every jurisdiction tries to learn from the experience of others, and this book seeks to make a contribution to that process, as well as providing a lively and informative resource for scholars and students.
Since the publication of the first edition, this textbook has offered one of the most distinctive and innovative approaches to the study of criminal law. Looking at both traditional and emerging areas, such as public order offences and corporate manslaughter, it offers a broad and thorough perspective on the subject. Material is organised thematically and is clearly signposted at the beginning of each section to allow the student to navigate successfully through the different fields. This fourth edition looks at topical issues such as policing, the Serious Crime Act 2007, and reform of the Fraud Act 2006. Relevant case law and extracts from the most topical and engaging debates on the subject give the subject immediacy. The book is essential for both undergraduate and postgraduate study of criminal law and justice.
On November 8, 1985, 18-year-old Tom Odle brutally murdered his parents and three siblings in the small southern Illinois town of Mount Vernon, sending shockwaves throughout the nation. The murder of the Odle family remains one of the most horrific family mass murders in U.S. history. Odle was sentenced to death and, after seventeen years on death row, expected a lethal injection to end his life. However, Illinois governor George Ryan’s moratorium on the death penalty in 2000, and later commutation of all death sentences in 2003, changed Odle’s sentence to natural life. The commutation of his death sentence was an epiphany for Odle. Prior to the commutation of his death sentence, Odle lived in denial, repressing any feelings about his family and his horrible crime. Following the commutation and the removal of the weight of eventual execution associated with his death sentence, he was confronted with an unfamiliar reality. A future. As a result, he realized that he needed to understand why he murdered his family. He reached out to Dr. Robert Hanlon, a neuropsychologist who had examined him in the past. Dr. Hanlon engaged Odle in a therapeutic process of introspection and self-reflection, which became the basis of their collaboration on this book. Hanlon tells a gripping story of Odle’s life as an abused child, the life experiences that formed his personality, and his tragic homicidal escalation to mass murder, seamlessly weaving into the narrative Odle’s unadorned reflections of his childhood, finding a new family on death row, and his belief in the powers of redemption. As our nation attempts to understand the continual mass murders occurring in the U.S., Survived by One sheds some light on the psychological aspects of why and how such acts of extreme carnage may occur. However, Survived by One offers a never-been-told perspective from the mass murderer himself, as he searches for the answers concurrently being asked by the nation and the world.