Crime

[justice411]

I arrived home to be met by my wife , who informed me that she was fed up with my constant womanising and that she was leaving me to live in a lesbian relation. I reacted angrily and screamed abuse at her. I then picked up a kitchen knife and threw it at her but missed and instead hit my daughter who had entered the room. Mt daughter was eight months pregnant and the knife hit her her, injuring the foetus, which was born in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. What is my criminal liabilities

[Buenchico]

Lcg:
The wording of this question suggests that it's a college assignment, rather than a confession!

It is a general principle of English law that an unborn child does not enjoy any legal status, or persona, and that this is only acquired at birth. Therefore the offence is one of Grievous Bodily Harm towards the daughter. As there was clearly no intent to cause serious harm to the daughter, Section 20 (rather than Section 18) of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 applies.

However there was also a clear attempt to cause Grievous Bodily Harm to the wife. As there is no offence of 'attempting to commit grievous bodily harm' under Section 20, that offence must be charged under Section 18.

Chris

[weecalf]

Wild imagination .Have you ever thought of or any your family Manchester United supporters who think just cause the have a useless player sent off that the world hates them .

[justice411]

Chris your experience shows...lol well done.....I have a bizarre scenario of which you have seen only the first paragraph...I agree with your comments and would further say the abuse he screamed at his wife could be argued constituted an assault. In R v Wilson [1955] 1 WLR 493 it was stated obiter that words could amount to an assault. In the first Pharagraph the following have taken place Transfer of Malice, GBH and Assault (words)......if you want to see the full scenario where the person who wrote this has carried his wild fantasies and you want to laugh and fall of your seat send me your email.....

[lcg]

in that case, i apologise......i had only just woken up! sorry x

[justice411]

lcg: no probs what are your thoughts now...lol

[New Judge]

Yes it could be argued that the words constituted an assault. Common Assault does not have to involve physical contact. However in the scenario you describe it would be irrelevant because, as Chris has pointed out, the charges are more likely to involve GBH (either S20 or S18). These certainly do have to involve physical contact and, being far more serious than Common Assault, they would take precedence in any charging decision.

[justice411]

Part 1. John arrived home to be met by his wife, Abby who informed him that she was fed up with his constant womanising and that she was leaving him to live in a lesbian relationship. John reacted angrily and screamed abuse at her. He then picked up a kitchen knife and threw it at Abby but missed and instead hit their daughter, Tania who had entered the room. Tania was eight months pregnant and the knife hit her , injuring the foetus, which was born in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Part 2. Before the ambulance reached the hospital it was struck by a train at a level crossing. The ambulance driver, Bob, had been trying to win a bet that he could reach the hospital in under 5 minutes and in trying to achieve his goal had driven under the level crossing barrier just as it was being lowered. Tania was killed by the train; the baby had died minutes before reaching the crossing.

Part 3. Hearing of Tania’s death, her younger brother Adam, aged 12, who suffered from depression, locked his father in the “walk in “freezer attached to the house. Abby heard John’s pleas for help but ignored them. John froze to death.

Part 4. Later that week Abby went to confront Bob, the ambulance driver, in his local pub. Bob had been enjoying a quiet drink when Abby approached him. Without warning Abby punched Bob in the face, breaking his nose. Bob reacted by putting Abby over his knee and spanking her. When he had finished he said a feisty woman turned him on.

Advice the parties as to their criminal liability, section by section..........

[sara3]

nice to see you're still lol-ing, justice411!

[lcg]

worst afternoon ever?

[Peter Pedant]

oh well - it's snowing outside

[FredPuli43]

It's not strictly true that there is no offence of attempting s20. It is perfectly possible for someone to attempt to wound somebody, without intending to cause them grievous bodily harm. However, if the s20 is gbh rather than wounding, attempting it is impossible, since the attempt must necessarily include an intent that gbh result, in which case the mens rea for s18, gbh with intent, is present and therefore it can only be an attempt to commit s18.

The questioner has the offence of child destruction in mind, hence the mention of the woman being 8 months pregnant. Such are points only occur to examiners and are worth mentioning as being not worthy of further consideration ; at least then you've shown you are aware of both the law and the examiner's little ways.. In practice nobody would ever load an indictment with a count of attempting child destruction in such a case, even if it were possible to demonstrate the necessary intent

[douglas9401]

You are desktop and I claim my five pounds.