R v Michael
1840 · 9 C & P 356
Posted By lanbuk.com
- Facts
- Michael wanted her infant child dead. She gave a bottle of poison to the nurse, telling her it was medicine for the child. The nurse did not give it. Her own child, aged five, did. The baby died.
- Issue
- Who is the principal when an innocent person administers the poison?
- Held
- Michael was of murder. The children and the nurse were innocent agents. She was the principal.
- Principle
- A person who causes the through someone who has no is the principal in the first degree.
- Why it matters
- It is the innocent-agent case. A child under seven is treated in the same way.
Words and Latin in this note
- Actus reus
- The physical part of a crime: the act, the circumstances, and in a result crime the consequence. It does not include the state of mind. It must be voluntary, unless the offence is one of the rare status crimes. Open the note.
- Mens rea
- The mental element in the definition of a crime. It is not one standard. Intention is the highest form. Recklessness is below it. Gross negligence sits at the bottom. The definition of the particular crime decides which is required. Open the note.
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