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KembaraXtra-Case Law-R v Church (1965)
I. Citation:
I. Citation:
- R v Church [1966] 1 QB 59.
- Defendant (D) claimed he took the victim (V) to a van for sexual purposes.
- In the van, V mocked and slapped D.
- A fight ensued, and D knocked V unconscious.
- Unable to revive V, D panicked and threw her into a river, where she drowned.
- Whether D was guilty of manslaughter.
- Specifically, whether the initial unlawful act (assault) was sufficiently linked to the death to establish unlawful act manslaughter.
- D was found guilty of manslaughter.
- D's actions constituted a series of acts that culminated in V's death.
- An unlawful act causing death does not automatically lead to a manslaughter conviction.
- Test: The unlawful act must be such that "all sober and reasonable people would inevitably recognise must subject the other person to, at least, the risk of some harm resulting therefrom, albeit not serious harm."
- Key Components:
- Unlawful Act: Must be a criminal offence.
- Risk of Some Harm: The act must carry an objective risk of some harm to the victim. Serious harm is not required.
- Sober and Reasonable Person: This is an objective test - would a reasonable person recognize the risk?
- Causation: The unlawful act must cause the death.
- Key Components:
- Established the key test for establishing unlawful act manslaughter focusing on the objective risk of harm.
- Clarified that not every unlawful act resulting in death constitutes manslaughter; a specific level of risk must be present.
- Chain of Events: The court recognized that a series of acts, even if individually not directly causative of death, can be considered together if they form a chain of events leading to the death.
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