Murder
response. He walked towards the kitchen and heard a slight sound. He then felt a sharp pain to his back and spun round to see what had happened. He recognised it was Jemima, and then he felt another sharp pain to his chest…
Jemima was scared. She couldn’t believe that Doug was still harassing her. It must have been him who threw the knife at Darren. Must have been. She heard the front door close. Why had Steven closed the door? She waited in the hallway close to the kitchen, having picked up the longest, sharpest knife she could find. She ran it across her forearm and it drew a little blood. She was ready.
She then saw a figure walk past her and towards the kitchen. She leapt from her hiding place and plunged the knife as hard as she could into his back. The man then turned around and she saw that it was Doug. What a result! She was elated. She stabbed him again, this time in the front of his chest. It much harder to get the knife through his chest cleanly this time so she twisted it a little to make sure. Doug dropped to the ground, Jemima went to the fridge, opened the door, and poured herself yet another large glass of white wine. She slumped to the floor, crying.
PC Keane pulled up on the gravelled drive. She thought she would surprise her cousin with a couple of pizzas, so got them out of the boot and walked towards the property. She walked into the hallway and could hear a woman crying in the kitchen. She saw Jemima sat, slouched on the floor, with a knife in one hand and a wine glass in the other.
She saw a male’s apparently lifeless body floor and noticed a pool of blood under the body.
She said to Jemima, “Say it was self-defence”…
Question
You should approach the questions in a logical way, identifying the ACTUS REUS and MENS REA of each potential offence, and incorporate any relevant CASE LAW and statutes into your answer.
You should then go on to consider the availability and Jemima’s eligibility for any defences or partial-defences. Again, work through the components of these defences. Do they apply in this case, and if so why? WHAT CASE LAW, or STATUE, can you use to support your arguments?
In answering questions such as these, it is important that you not only FORM A VIEW, but you DEMONSTRATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAW and its APPLICATION in order to explain your answer, using CORRECT CITATIONS throughout.
There is no word limit for this task. It is for you to devote as much time as you need to understand the application of these important principles
Task
Step 1
1. Based on the information presented in the case study, what offences, (if any) has Jemima committed, and why?
2. If she has committed any offences, which defences, or partial defences may be available to her, and which if any, are likely to succeed?
3. What difference would it make to your answer if Doug dies, or doesn’t die?
4. What difference would it make to your answer if Jemima had stabbed Darren, rather than Doug?
