R v Cocker
1989 · Crim LR 740
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Facts
- Cocker's wife was terminally ill and in great pain. She had repeatedly asked him to kill her. One night he smothered her with a pillow. He was of murder. He said he had acted because of her requests and her suffering.
- Issue
- Is a mercy killing , or a loss of self-control?
- Held
- The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction. He had not lost his temper. He had listened to his wife and decided to do as she asked.
- Principle
- Provocation requires a sudden and temporary loss of self-control. A considered response to a is murder, if the intention to kill is there.
- Why it matters
- Duffy supplies the sudden-and-temporary test. Cocker shows that compassion is not that loss of control.
Words and Latin in this note
- Provocation
- A partial defence to murder in Sierra Leone. The accused lost self-control because of provocative conduct, and a reasonable person with the accused's characteristics might have done as he did. It reduces murder to manslaughter. It is not a defence to any other crime. Open the note.
For study only. By lanbuk.com. Always check current sources and consult a qualified professional.