{"id":359,"date":"2023-01-16T15:37:58","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T15:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/?page_id=359"},"modified":"2023-01-24T18:00:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T18:00:28","slug":"murder-and-manslaughter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/murder-and-manslaughter\/","title":{"rendered":"Murder and Manslaughter"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"359\" class=\"elementor elementor-359\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-41a9a98 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"41a9a98\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e7a1403\" data-id=\"e7a1403\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4190a1c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4190a1c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.8 - 02-10-2022 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Murder and Manslaughter<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-79c61fd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"79c61fd\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d95b2ee\" data-id=\"d95b2ee\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-519f05e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"519f05e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.8 - 02-10-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c61c820 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"c61c820\" data-element_type=\"section\"><div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\"><div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-10d881a\" data-id=\"10d881a\" data-element_type=\"column\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\"><div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-957a4d0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"957a4d0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-container\"><div class=\"et_pb_section et_pb_section_0 et_section_regular\"><div class=\"et_pb_row et_pb_row_0\"><div class=\"et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column_0 et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et-last-child\"><div class=\"et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_0 et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_text_align_left\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h2><strong>Murder or Manslaughter Charges Lawyer in Sydney NSW<\/strong><\/h2><p>Murder and manslaughter is an extremely serious criminal\u00a0offence\u00a0to be charged with. If you\u2019ve been arrested by the police we recommended you contact us (<a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/\">rhalaw.com<\/a>) for a consultation so you can get the proper advice that will give you the best\u00a0defence.\u00a0We will be able to give you\u2019re the proper advice and inform you of the best way for you to move forward and defend your innocence.<\/p><h2><b>Homicide<\/b><\/h2><p>Homicide refers to the unlawful killing of one person by another.\u00a0 There are 2 distinct categories of homicide:<\/p><ol><li>Murder \u2013 the killing a person with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm<\/li><li>Manslaughter \u2013 the unintentional killing of another person<\/li><\/ol><h2><b>Murder s18:<\/b><\/h2><p>The definition of murder under s18 of the Crimes Act 1990 (NSW) is the committing of an act with the intention to cause death or inflict grievous bodily harm or violence on another person.\u00a0It\u2019s the most serious criminal charge.\u00a0 If charged with murder there are two options for the offender; pleading not guilty and guilty.<\/p><h2><b>Pleading Not Guilty to Murder<\/b><\/h2><p>You may plead not guilty to a murder charge if you believe you are innocent.\u00a0 The prosecution must prove two main elements in order to find you guilty:<\/p><ol><li>There was\u00a0intention\u00a0to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm upon another person<\/li><li>Your actions or omissions of violence caused the other person\u2019s death<\/li><\/ol><p>If you believe that the prosecution cannot prove these 2 elements then you can push to have the charges dropped before the matter proceeds to court.<\/p><h2><b>Proving Intention to Murder<\/b><\/h2><p>It is required that there is an intention to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm.\u00a0There are 4 different categories that are used to prove that there was the murder or grievous bodily harm was intentional.<\/p><ol><li>That there was an Intention to kill the other person. This is different\u00a0to\u00a0the charge of manslaughter which involves the unintentional or\u00a0accident\u00a0killing of another person<\/li><li>Intention to inflict grievous bodily harm and also that\u00a0in\u00a0resulted in death. Grievous bodily harm type of violence refers to the permanent or seriously disfiguring injury<\/li><\/ol><ul><li>Acted with \u201creckless indifference to human life\u201d. This refers to the fact that you have knowledge that what you did would likely result in the death of the other person<\/li><\/ul><ol><li>Other person dies while you were committing\u00a0a serious\u00a0offences\u00a0(this can attract the max penalty of 25 years or greater). An example of this is where someone is sexually assaulted and they die during the assault.<\/li><\/ol><h2><b>Proving Actions Caused Death:<\/b><\/h2><p>The actions or omissions must have been the cause of the other person\u2019s death.\u00a0 To prove this the prosecution will look at whether the action for\u00a0omission\u00a0was a \u201csubstantial and significant cause\u2019 of the other person\u2019s death.\u00a0If it is a substantive reason then it may not be sufficient.\u00a0 For example, if someone is suffering from an illness which contributed to death the prosecution will not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your actions caused death.<\/p><h2><b>Defences To the Charge of Murder:<\/b><\/h2><p>Should the matters proceed to court you should be aware of\u00a0defences\u00a0that may apply which can explain your conduct.<\/p><ol><li>Self-defence<\/li><li>Duress<\/li><li>Necessity<\/li><li>Atomatism<\/li><li>Mental illness<\/li><li>Provocation (charge may be lessened to manslaughter if this can be proved and where penalties are less severe)<\/li><\/ol><p>If a plea of not guilty is entered then the case will proceed to trial to determine your guilt.\u00a0 You will need an expert team of lawyers for legal advice to give you the best change of proving your innocence. Our team of manslaughter lawyers Sydney are very experienced with murder trials and will be able to instruct you every step of the way to ensure you have the best chance of defending your case.<\/p><h2><b>Pleading Guilty to Murder:<\/b><\/h2><p>If you plead guilty from the beginning your case will proceed straight to sentencing.\u00a0 This is where the justice of the NSW District or Supreme Court determines the type and length of the penalty that you will receive.\u00a0Pleading guilty at an early stage will usually\u00a0results\u00a0in a more lenient sentence. This is due to the fact that the Sydney courts will view your acceptance of guilt as taking responsibility for your actions. A lawyer with lots of experience is highly recommended in this case.<\/p><p>The maximum penalty\u00a0of\u00a0murder is life imprisonment.\u00a0 However, this is usually reserved for the most serious\u00a0offences.\u00a0 Often sentences will be lower than this, but certain factors may increase the seriousness of the\u00a0offence\u00a0and attract a harsher penalty while other factors may decrease the seriousness of the\u00a0crime.<\/p><h3>More Information On the Offence of Murder<\/h3><p>Murder charges are extremely serious and can also be very complex.\u00a0 You should seek legal advice and as much relevant information possible to best defend yourself from these charges.\u00a0Our murder lawyers are able to provide you with additional information as well as map out a strategy for your defense.\u00a0 If you would like more information do contact us for a consultation.<\/p><h3>Penalties for Murder<\/h3><p>The maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment.\u00a0 Often sentences can be less depending on the circumstances.\u00a0 Depending on your intention and characteristics of the deceased may impact you sentence. For example the death of certain people such as public officers, police officers, emergency service workers, health professionals, teachers and minors may attract a more severe sentence. The average sentence for murder is 25 years and the average non-parole period is 20 years.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_section et_pb_section_2 et_section_regular\"><div class=\"et_pb_row et_pb_row_2\"><div class=\"et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column_3 et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et-last-child\"><div class=\"et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_2 et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_text_align_left\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><h2><strong>Manslaughter s18<\/strong><\/h2><p>The crime of Manslaughter is defined under s18 of the Crimes Act 1990 (NSW) as the unlawful killing of another person through unintentional or accidental circumstances based of your actions and omissions.\u00a0 This is less serious than murder but still a serious charge to be faced with.<\/p><h3>Pleading Not Guilty to Manslaughter<\/h3><p>There are four circumstances that give rise to manslaughter.\u00a0 The prosecution must prove at least one of these circumstances was present as a cause of death:<\/p><ol><li>Death was due to criminal negligence. In other words you owed a duty to the other person but because of your criminal negligence it was breached.<\/li><li>Death was caused do to your unlawful and dangerous actions you committed.<\/li><\/ol><ul><li>Acting in excessive self-defence that caused death<\/li><\/ul><ol><li>Death was cause due to an omission or failure to do something<\/li><\/ol><h3>Manslaughter Defences<\/h3><ul><li>Self-defence<\/li><li>Duress<\/li><li>Necessity<\/li><li>Automation<\/li><li>Mental illness<\/li><\/ul><h3>Pleading Guilty to Manslaughter<\/h3><p>If you plead guilty your case will proceed to sentencing.\u00a0 Early guilty pleas will generally attract a lesser sentence as the court will take into consideration that you have taken responsibility for your actions or omissions.\u00a0 This will also means that you avoid a lengthy and costly criminal trial.<\/p><p><strong>Penalties<\/strong><\/p><p>The maximum penalty for manslaughter is 25 years, however this is usually only applied in the most serious cases.\u00a0 The average length of sentence is 7 years with a 4.5 year period of non-parole.<\/p><h2><b>Different Types of Manslaughter<\/b><\/h2><p>There are four different elements of manslaughter.\u00a0 To be found guilty the prosecution needs to at least prove one of these.<\/p><h3>Criminal Negligence<\/h3><p>This is where you owe a duty of care to someone.\u00a0 A reasonable person would have realized their negligent actions would have a high likelihood of causing the death of another person.<\/p><h4>The Duty Arises Where<\/h4><ul><li>The law imposes the duty of care upon you \u2013 i.e. driving negligently<\/li><li>You have a relationship with other person that implies a duty of care \u2013 i.e. a teacher and student relationship<\/li><li>There is a contractual relationship \u2013 i.e. employer and employee relationship<\/li><li>You assume that duty based on your conduct<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>You Acted Negligently<\/strong><\/p><p>Your actions fell short of the duty of care. Courts in Sydney will look the perspective of ordinary member of public.\u00a0 They will also take into consideration how a reasonable person would have acted.\u00a0 A reasonable person is someone of same age and gender and same education and training who is not affected by alcohol.<\/p><p><strong>Negligent Actions Contributed to Death<\/strong><\/p><p>The prosecution is required to prove that the negligent actions were the substantial cause of death or at the very least accelerated death.<\/p><p><strong>The Actions Demanded Criminal Punishment<\/strong><\/p><p>The prosecution is required to prove that the breach of the standard duty of care deserves to be punished.\u00a0 Again the courts will look at how a reasonable person would have acted and whether there was knowledge that the actions or omission would likely cause serious injury or death.\u00a0 If the negligence is server then it will warrant legal punishment.<\/p><h3><b>Unlawful and Dangerous Act<\/b><\/h3><p>If unlawful or dangerous acts cause another person\u2019s death it is enough to prove manslaughter.<\/p><p>To prove this the prosecution will need to show:<\/p><ul><li>The actions were unlawful and resulted in death and that self \u2013defence did not apply<\/li><li>A reasonable person would have realized their actions could result in serious injury or death<\/li><li>Show that a reasonable person had knowledge that the actions were dangerous.<\/li><\/ul><h3><b>Excessive self-defence<\/b><\/h3><p>Self-defence by protecting yourself, property or another person is a valid defence but it must not be excessive based on the surrounding circumstances.<\/p><p>For the prosecution to prove that this was excessive:<\/p><ul><li>The force used must have resulted in the intentional or reckless killing of someone. It must be shown that the actions was a substantial reason for the other person\u2019s death and that those actions were intentional or had reckless indifference to human life<\/li><li>The conduct was excessive and unreasonable. The court will look at the situation from you persecution to see if the actions used were reasonable at the time of the offence.\u00a0 If they are shown to be excessive or unreasonable you will need to justify your actions.<\/li><li>That you did not act to defend yourself or another person.<\/li><\/ul><h3><b>Manslaughter by omission<\/b><\/h3><p>Omission refers to failing to perform an obligation or some action.\u00a0 For example, a parent failed to properly take care of child and child dies.<\/p><p>Here the prosecution needs to prove:<\/p><ul><li>You had a legal obligation to care for someone<\/li><li>You omitted to do some action in line with duty of care. The omission had fallen short of the duty of care that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have had.<\/li><li>The omission substantially contributed to their death. It must be proved beyond reasonable doubt that your omission was a substantial cause of the other persons death<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><section id=\"contact\" class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-79236ced elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"79236ced\" data-element_type=\"section\"><div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\"><div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-327a7f5f\" data-id=\"327a7f5f\" data-element_type=\"column\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\"><div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-33b4d303 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"33b4d303\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\"><div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools\" style=\"display: none;\"><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools--container\"><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-copy\" title=\"Copy\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-change-color\" title=\"Change Color\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-delete\" title=\"Delete\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools\" style=\"display: none;\"><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools--container\"><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-copy\" title=\"Copy\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-change-color\" title=\"Change Color\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-delete\" title=\"Delete\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools\" style=\"display: none;\"><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools--container\"><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-copy\" title=\"Copy\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-change-color\" title=\"Change Color\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-delete\" title=\"Delete\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools\" style=\"display: none;\"><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools--container\"><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-copy\" title=\"Copy\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-change-color\" title=\"Change Color\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-delete\" title=\"Delete\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools\" style=\"display: none;\"><div id=\"highlighter--hover-tools--container\"><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-copy\" title=\"Copy\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-change-color\" title=\"Change Color\">\u00a0<\/div><div class=\"highlighter--icon highlighter--icon-delete\" title=\"Delete\">\u00a0<\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Murder and Manslaughter Murder or Manslaughter Charges Lawyer in Sydney NSW Murder and manslaughter is an extremely serious criminal\u00a0offence\u00a0to be charged with. If you\u2019ve been arrested by the police we recommended you contact us (rhalaw.com) for a consultation so you can get the proper advice that will give you the best\u00a0defence.\u00a0We will be able to &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/murder-and-manslaughter\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Murder and Manslaughter<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/359"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":716,"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/359\/revisions\/716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rhalaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}