Manslaughter and Criminal Law - Assignment Example

Set criminal damage article act Article The issue being discussed in this article is a criminal act. This owes to the fact that the individual (Andrew Partington), decided to burn down his rented house, due to the relational conflicts he had with his girlfriend. This act in itself is criminal since it was meant to destroy other people’s properties. He also intended to perform this criminal activity, bearing in mind that he was in his right mind at the time of planning and executing. The article identified the issue accurately owing to the fact that it was stated that, ‘he was guilty of manslaughter and about eight charges of destruction of properties. However, I would state that this was not just manslaughter but ‘unlawful act manslaughter’ as it shall be discussed later. This case is an example of what is demonstrated in R vs. Creamer1. According to this provision, it is indicated that an individual is considered to have committed unlawful act of manslaughter when in the act of carrying out a criminal act, causes another unexpected harm. In R vs. Dawson, the defendant had attempted to rob a certain petrol station. He was carrying a gun ready to use it if need be. However, he did not know that there was an attendant at the station at that time. When attendant saw the defendant, she collapsed and died. However, the defendant did not do anything that would directly be linked to the death of the attendant. The Judge held that this was an ‘unlawful act manslaughter’ stating that the defendant did not actually kill the attendant. However, it was held that he was ready to use his weapon if there would be any resistance from anyone. He was therefore sentenced to serve several years in jail. This situation is similar to the one stated in this criminal damage article. The defendant though committed unlawful act of destroying the properties did not was not aware of whether it would have resulted in another catastrophe. He had not intended to harm the toddler, but was just driven by emotions to destroy properties. From the article, I would say that stating that the defendant was charged of ‘manslaughter’ was too general. This is because there is what is referred to as voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. The article should have been able to be clear on the matter. If for instance, the defendant was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, he should have been jailed for life. This is because this would show that actually the man had planned to commit the criminal act. However, as indicated before, the defendant in this article had no aforethought of wanting to harm anyone in the process. It is for this purpose that this article would be said to be too general in assessing this matter. Articles 2 and 3 These two articles are related in the sense that they both refer to a similar criminal act. In both, the arsonists have set ablaze properties, which is an act of crime. However, in the ‘Britain's oldest radical bookshop is burned, but the ideas survive,’ article, it is clear that the suspects have not yet been identified2. It is therefore difficult to tell the kind of sentence that was held by the court. On the other hand though, the third article, ‘Man, 47, charged with arson attack on 1,000-year-old Winchester Cathedral after ancient deanery doors were set ablaze using charity books,’ the police managed to apprehend a man who pleaded guilty of the offence3. He was charged of being responsible for destruction of properties. However, the article is not clear on how many years the individual was to be sentenced. Despite that, the article was accurate in identifying the kind of crime that had been committed. In the articles, if the two individuals would be held responsible for committing a crime of Arson. However, according to the common law statutory, a crime is stated to be an arson if, ‘it was malicious and also involves burning of other people’s properties.’ for the man who was apprehended, it is clear that he maliciously committed the act4. Though the article is not clear on the motives that led to this act, one thing that comes out is that the offender was of sound mind. He therefore intended to commit this crime and actually executed him plan. Similar charges would be pressed on the other suspect once he/she is apprehended. In both articles, there is no state of the law and therefore it would be difficult to state whether the laws were well applied or not. They failed in providing more details about the laws that are applied when such criminal acts are committed. They were shallow, and just mentioned the acts without providing more details. Comparison between the three articles All the three articles are related in the sense that they all talk about the different criminal activities, which have taken place. However, while in the first article-involved manslaughter, the last two articles talk about the arson related crimes. In the former article, the author was very detailed in reporting the criminal act. He went as far as stating what kind of crime had been committed and the duration of the sentence. However, all the three articles were weak in the sense that they did not accurately dwell on the issue, with an intension to provide more details. In the former article for instance, the article was in a hurry to state that the man was charged for manslaughter. However, as indicated before, this would be a generalization of the matter bearing in mind that there are different types of manslaughter. The article would have stated which one in particular. On the other hand, one of the last two articles was weak in the sense that it only stated that about the arson that hand already taken place. It dwelled on what happened and how people responded without giving details on how the case was solved. It did state for instance whether those responsible for this criminal act were apprehended or not. It is therefore difficult to tell whether the cause of this fire was actually caused an act of malice, or was out of electric fault. In the final article, it is clear that the article did not provide information on the kind of sentence that was given by the judge after finding the man guilt of the offense. It is therefore understand this case given the fact that it lacks enough information. Set 2 This represents two main articles with two different cases of criminal activities. In the first article entitled “Thieves hold axe to boy, 9, during burglary’ and the other ‘Police called as Millwall midfielder Wright has ?8,000 watch stolen in latest theft.’ In the former category, it is indicated that burglars threatened to kill the family of Auluk if he would not allow them take a high performance vehicle5. He accepted and therefore did not have to kill the nine-year-old boy. However, it is clear from the article that the thieves were determined to carry out a murder had the man refused to surrender the vehicle. For that reason, two main charges may be pressed against these robbers. One would be robbery with violence and attempted murder. However, since the burglars have not been apprehended, the article is not clear on what the charges pressed against these assailants. In the other article, Wright who is a midfielder has stated that he has lost his expensive watch. It is indicated that this is not the first time that such an incidence has taken place6. Other players have also lost their properties from the rooms as soon as they go for training. This is a normal theft with no intention of harming any human being. It is not as serious as the stated one before. However, the article still fails in stating what charges were pressed against the individual. This is because investigations are still in process to find out who has been stealing from the players. In one of the statutory, in England and Wales, it is indicated that an act is defined as robbery with violence when, ‘... in the act of stealing, he puts the life of the victim in danger, by threatening to harm or kill them.’ this is according to section 8 (1) of the Theft Act 1968. This is similar to the theft that was carried out at the Auluk’s apartment7. There was use of force to the point that the life of an innocent young boy was put in danger. As indicated before, if the assailants are apprehended, they would also be charged with attempted murder. This owes to the fact that they were actually ready to commit this had the man refused to provide them with what they wanted. The difference between the two articles is that while there is use of force in in one, the other one has no such intensions to harm the individual. However, they are both similar in the sense that in both, theft is the main act. In matters of giving sentences though, the burglars using violence to obtain property may get up to life imprisonment depending on the laws of a particular country. This owes to the fact that such thefts committed more than one criminal act. They intended to murders, which one of the most serious offense. On the other hand, though, the suspect who stole the watch would receive fairer charge owing to the fact that his/her criminal act was a smaller magnitude. It had to direct harm to the life of the victims. Conclusion on the two sets of articles The two sets of articles have been able to state the criminal acts, which have been committed. In the first set, crimes include manslaughter and arson. The last set on the other hand dwelt on issues of theft. The two sets however, were not accurate in explaining the matters comprehensively. Though the first set tried to explain about what had taken place and the type of sentence, it had however failed to be accurately indicate what type of crime had been committed. It generally stated that a manslaughter crime had been committed when it is clear that there are various forms of such cases. In the second case, one of the articles failed in stating whether the fire had been caused by an act of malice or by other uncontrolled forces. Bibliography Allen, Michael. 2005. Textbook on Criminal Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-927918-7. Duell, Mark 3rd Jan 2013 Daily MailMan, 47, charged with arson attack on 1,000-year-old Winchester Cathedral after ancient deanery doors were set ablaze using charity books http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2256678/Man-47-charged-arson-attack-Winchester-Cathedral-ancient-deanery-doors-set-ablaze.html Garofoli, Joe 2007 "Suspect in Burning Man arson decries event's loss of spontaneity.” San Francisco Chronicle. p. A8. Archived from the original on 25 April 2008. Retrieved 2013.05.10 Gee, Tim 4th Feb 2013 Guardian Britain's oldest radical bookshop is burned, but the ideas survive http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/04/freedom-press-oldest-radical-bookshop-arson-attack James, Andy Daily Mail 9th Nov 2012 Police called as Millwall midfielder Wright has ?8,000 watch stolen in latest theft http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2230358/Millwall-player-Josh-Wright-watch-stolen.html Pidd, Helen 2013 Man jailed over house gas blast that killed toddler neighbour http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/19/jailed-gas-blast-toddler-partingto-oldham?INTCMP=SRCH Press Association 30th Jan 2013 The Guardain Thieves hold axe to boy, 9, during burglaryhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/30/thieves-axe-boy-burglary Read More