friends daughter is doing a project at college on sentancing the situation she has to write a piece on is

[zzxxee]

and wants to know if an 18 year old hit someone was taken to hospital in a critical state later died of head injuries and they are charged later with murder if found guilty what degree of murder is this and also at 18 are they classes as a youth offender
and what sentance would they likely get

many thanks

[ummmm]

It would be manslaughter......not murder.

Something similar happened to my cousin (thank God for CCTV) The lad was revived but had to be flown to a specialist hospital. No charges because the CCTV showed that he hit him in self defence and just once. He had to pay for the helicopter though....£3k

[zzxxee]

i see what your saying ummm but the piece is that the person is charged with murder so she has to write on the information she has been given she cant change the sentence

[Sandy-Wroe]

I think for a conviction of murder there has to be intent to kill or cause serious harm to the victim. If the 18 year old had used a weapon he might be convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
If he had punched the victim, who then fell and fatally injured himself in the fall, he might get away with manslaughter.

[zzxxee]

as i said the person later dies of head injuries and the person is then charged with murder x

[ummmm]

It's hard to answer then zzxxee because it really isn't murder.

Do we do degrees of murder here?

In America they do first degree, second degree.....I thought we just had murder, manslaughter?

? because I don't know......

[Sandy-Wroe]

The initial charge and the charge eventually faced in court might be very different. A guilty plea to a charge of manslaughter would probably be acceptable.

[zzxxee]

ok thanks ummmm and sandy for your input

[dh001]

Hi zzxxee: The most basic answer is:-

This is an offence of Murder committed by an adult. When an adult is convicted of murder, a sentence of life imprisonment is mandatory and it is the Home Secretary who decides on the minimum term (tarrif) to be served in prison.



.

[bigfoot3000]

Ummmm why did your cousin have to pay for the helicopter, surely if this was done in self defence then the responsibility lies with the aggressor even if he did get injured?

[zzxxee]

thanks everyone

[dh001]

zzxxee. Sorry, seems i didnt enter the text properly on my last post. (hence a wierd gap at the bottom).

The most basic answer is:-

This is an offence of Murder committed by an adult. When an adult is convicted of murder, a sentence of life imprisonment is mandatory. For an offender who was between 18 and 21 when the offence was committed, the sentence is called 'custody for life'.

Until fairly recent, the Home Secretary decided the minimum term to be served in prison but it is now set by the courts. Sentencing guildlines for the courts suggest the starting point for the offence you describe is 15 yrs imprisonment. Aggravating / mitigating circumstances are then applied. Again, the case you describe would see a reduction (no intention to kill etc).

(In reality this would likely result in a conviction for Involuntary Manslaughter 3-5 yrs)

[zzxxee]

thank you i will pass the information on x

[ummmm]

Bigfoot.....I don't know.

[dragongiraffe]

To quote pertinent Acts, relevant Sections of Law, etc. applicable get copy of Butterworth's Police Law from library. It's the standard text used by police officers studying for promotion exams.
Also - tell her to call "Cop-shop" & make appt. to meet Neighbourhood Beat Manager to discuss her project. That's bound to get her "brownie points"!

[dentarot]

The court would take into account any previous convictions? the circumstances that the incident took place,accidental (manslaughter) intentional had the young person intended to cause harm /pre-meditated, others involvement etc, witness statements and such.. Young Offenders are classed as such up until the age of 18 , after 18 they then are classesd as adults and Probabtion would be involved with court proceedings. The person would be advised as to what section the crime was to be considered by the Courts i.e. Section 18, Section 20 etc
If the crime was commited before the age of 18 the Youth Offending Team would present a PSR (pre-sentence report). The sentence would originally be served in a YOI enviroment until the age of 21 and the person would then be transfered to an adult enviroment. The latter part of the sentence may be served in the community under licence, with conditions i.e. curfew, tag ,signing on at the police station, regular contact with a Probation Officer and residing in a suitable property. Breach of such conditions would result in the person returning to custody to serve the remainder of their sentence......hope this helps