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Aiding Manslaughter ?
Someone has asked my advice and I do not know the possible charge,
Situation, this persons nephew was out with a friend when the friend got into an argument with another man. The nephew was asked by the other man to hold his phone and other stuff while he 'sorted this bloke out' The other guy hit the man and knocked him out, the man died of the injury. The assailant is charged with manslaughter and the nephew is on bail , the person doesn't know what charge the nephew is facing and has asked me. Is there such a charge as 'aiding manslaughter' ? I know it is serious and a certain prison term but I do not know what the actual charge is likely to be. The nephew did not do anything other than look after the assailants phone and belongings while he hit the man.
Situation, this persons nephew was out with a friend when the friend got into an argument with another man. The nephew was asked by the other man to hold his phone and other stuff while he 'sorted this bloke out' The other guy hit the man and knocked him out, the man died of the injury. The assailant is charged with manslaughter and the nephew is on bail , the person doesn't know what charge the nephew is facing and has asked me. Is there such a charge as 'aiding manslaughter' ? I know it is serious and a certain prison term but I do not know what the actual charge is likely to be. The nephew did not do anything other than look after the assailants phone and belongings while he hit the man.
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He would be charged as a principal. It's a bit of a stretch to hold him guilty of anything, on what we are told.
But I very much doubt that the CPS, having counsel's advice, would charge him with manslaughter. That's more a practical decision than a legal one. In strict legal theory it is possible. All that is necessary is that he agreed to help in , or he encouraged, the commission of an unlawful act of violence on another and that other died as a result. But juries won't like it. Probably you wouldn't; he is not the man who hit the victim and it seems a bit hard to hold him equally responsible for the death. Presented with that the jury will look at the words 'hold my phone and stuff while I sort this man out' and rapidly decide that simply holding something while someone goes off to , possibly or probably , assault another does not amount to participating in the assault, or encouraging it, and therefore the man is not guilty of anything
But I very much doubt that the CPS, having counsel's advice, would charge him with manslaughter. That's more a practical decision than a legal one. In strict legal theory it is possible. All that is necessary is that he agreed to help in , or he encouraged, the commission of an unlawful act of violence on another and that other died as a result. But juries won't like it. Probably you wouldn't; he is not the man who hit the victim and it seems a bit hard to hold him equally responsible for the death. Presented with that the jury will look at the words 'hold my phone and stuff while I sort this man out' and rapidly decide that simply holding something while someone goes off to , possibly or probably , assault another does not amount to participating in the assault, or encouraging it, and therefore the man is not guilty of anything
Eddie, all of which leaves the problem of what you can charge him with. If you charge abh or s20 (if it were s18, the killing would be murder) that means, technically, he should really be charged with manslaughter, and it might invite comment that you have stuck him on some lesser charge to get a plea of guilty to something (as if prosecuting, we would think of such a thing LOL). If the evidence is only what we know of, it really is not at all runnable, only barely worth an assault charge and any counsel offered a let out plea would tell the prosecution to get stuffed. After all 'sort him out' could mean a lot of abuse but the anticipation of a fist fight, not necessarily one in which the defendant struck the first blow, and it's hard to see that the person taking the items is meant to be intending anything unlawful, beyond a reasonable doubt.
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