⇒ Diminished responsibility is a defence only to murder and, if successful, reduces the charge to manslaughter. It is defined in s2(1) of Homicide Act 1957, and amended by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
⇒ The defendant must show that he/she suffered from an abnormality of mental functioning, arising from a recognised medical condition, which provides an explanation for committing the killing. It must be shown that the abnormality substantially impaired his/her ability to understand the nature of his/her conduct, form a rational judgment, and exercise self-control.
⇒ The burden of proof is on the defendant when raising diminished responsibility (i.e. the defendant has to prove diminished responsibility), but only on a balance of probabilities (i.e. the defendant needs to prove diminished responsibility is more likely than not).
⇒ Often the court will not challenge a defendant raising diminished responsibility, but the Court of Appeal in R v Vinagre (1979) said the prosecution should only leave the defendant without challenge if there is sufficient evidence of his mental abnormality.
⇒ The old law required an abnormality of the mind: thus, in R v Byrne [1960] it was stated that if the defendant’s mind is different from that of a normal mind then that would suffice.
⇒ The new law requires a "recognised mental condition". Thus, the defendant's successful reliance on 'Othello Syndrome' to plead diminished responsibility in R v Vinagre (1979) would not work under the new law unless 'Othello Syndrome' was a "recognised medical condition".
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⇒ The abnormality of mental functioning must "substantially impair" the defendant's ability to be rational and exercise self-control.
⇒ The leading case on the meaning of substantial is R v R [2010].
⇒ The issue of how the jury should deal with a case where the defendant was both intoxicated and had an abnormality of mental functioning during the killing has been addressed in R v Stewart [2009]. Note: this case was decided under the old law, but it is likely a similar approach will be followed under the current law.
⇒ Also see the cases of R v Dietschmann [2003] and R v Dowds [2012].
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