Murder law misinterpreted for 30 years.

[Buce]

Hundreds of convicted murderers could be released:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35598896

[Guest MattP]

Blimey, how can the law makers and professionals get this so wrong?

 

Imagine this turns the Stephen Lawrence case upside down as well.

[David Guiza]

This is going to be really interesting, remember reading the facts of some of cases whilst at Uni/a-level and being perplexed as to how it was murder not manslaughter and vice versa.

 

I do happen to agree with the judges' comments regarding foresight not being enough to convict someone for murder due to severity of the crime and the punishment it carries, I guess it's a downside to judicial precedent as one misinterpretation of the law in a higher court can lead to such abnormalities.  

[Finnegan]

Surely if something is "misinterpreted" for so long then the original wording was pretty rubbish to begin with? At what point does the precedent set over the last X decades overrule the written law?

[Benguin]

If you're interested and have Netflix I recommend wathing the TV film, common. Really good watch and touches on this subject.

[Benguin]

Surely if something is "misinterpreted" for so long then the original wording was pretty rubbish to begin with? At what point does the precedent set over the last X decades overrule the written law?

Murder is not legislation it is common law I.e case law. The judiciary has ruled over the past 30 years that holding the knife isn't the only way you'll be convicted of murder. If 5 people have the common plan to rob a bank they are all guilty whether they held the teller up or whether they drove the car. If someone steps outside the common plan, i.e one of the five stabs a bystander the court decides whether the others could have foreseen this and thus share the same mens rea (intent to kill) as part of the common plan.

[Buce]

It says 30 years, but I seem to recall a case from my childhood (I think it happened shortly before I was born, but was still spoken about) where someone shot a copper during a bungled burglary. The killer was seventeen - too young to hang - but his accomplice, Dereck Bentley(?), was 18 and was sentenced to death. The controversy (as I recall) centred on what Bentley had said: the copper had told the killer to give him the gun, and Bentley had shouted, "Let him have it". The defence claimed he meant 'give him the gun', but the ambiguity of the phrase meant it was interpreted otherwise.

I believe the case was the catalyst for the abolition of the Death Penalty.

Edit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_3393000/3393807.stm

[Brizzle Fox]

It says 30 years, but I seem to recall a case from my childhood (I think it happened shortly before I was born, but was still spoken about) where someone shot a copper during a bungled burglary. The killer was seventeen - too young to hang - but his accomplice, Dereck Bentley(?), was 18 and was sentenced to death. The controversy (as I recall) centred on what Bentley had said: the copper had told the killer to give him the gun, and Bentley had shouted, "Let him have it". The defence claimed he meant 'give him the gun', but the ambiguity of the phrase meant it was interpreted otherwise.

I believe the case was the catalyst for the abolition of the Death Penalty.

Edit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_3393000/3393807.stm[/quote

It was indeed. Quite a good film made about it as well. Think it starred a young Chris Eccleston.

[Rincewind]

It says 30 years, but I seem to recall a case from my childhood (I think it happened shortly before I was born, but was still spoken about) where someone shot a copper during a bungled burglary. The killer was seventeen - too young to hang - but his accomplice, Dereck Bentley(?), was 18 and was sentenced to death. The controversy (as I recall) centred on what Bentley had said: the copper had told the killer to give him the gun, and Bentley had shouted, "Let him have it". The defence claimed he meant 'give him the gun', but the ambiguity of the phrase meant it was interpreted otherwise.

I believe the case was the catalyst for the abolition of the Death Penalty.

Edit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_3393000/3393807.stm

1951-1953 I think. Covered that at Night school English. The story is in the film Let Him Have it, which are the words the Bentley shouted out. Another case where I think it was not 100% clear. He maintained that he was saying hand the gun over. The older of the two had a mental age way below his actual age. The defence was poor. The case was over within 3 months. Nov-Feb. There was an appeal by the family which they took to the HOC the day before execution but was told that even though they had a case an example had to be shown to the youth of Britain.