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KembaraXtra-Case Law-Woollin (1998) - Homicide: Intention and Murder
Case Summary:
  • Facts: The defendant (D) lost his temper and threw his three-month-old son onto a hard surface, causing fatal skull fractures.
  • Held: D was not guilty of murder.
Key Legal Principle (Per Lord Steyn):
  • Foresight of a substantial risk of causing death is not sufficient to establish the intent required for murder.
  • Equating substantial risk with intention "blurs the line between intention and recklessness, and hence between murder and manslaughter."
Guidance on Nedrick Direction (Refinement of Nedrick (1986)):
  • The Nedrick direction remains a valuable tool for trial judges in cases involving oblique intent.
Specific Amendments to the Model Nedrick Direction:
  • (A) "To Find" vs. "To Infer": The words "to find" should replace "to infer" in the direction.
  • (B) Removal of Sentence: The first sentence of point (B) in the Nedrick direction "does not form part of the model direction" and should be omitted.




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