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Diminished Responsibility--Mental Health Act 1983--Hospital Orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the court case R. v Braithwaite (Ezekial), in which the British Court of Appeal rejected the defendant's appeal for his conviction of murder and unlawful act manslaughter.

The article presents a court case R. v Tas (Ali), in which a Court of Appeal judge dismissed the appeal of a defendant who was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter over the death of a person who was fatally stabbed by the defendant using a knife owned by his friend.

The article discusses a court case wherein the Court of Appeal dismissed appeals of appellants and held that there was no misdirection on the established law adverse to them in England. The Court dealt with elements for unlawful act manslaughter which had to be carefully differentiated namely the requisite state of mind and the requirement of dangerousness in relation to the unlawful act. It cites options for changing the law such as modifying the objective test and maintaining the status quo.

The article discusses three British Court of Appeal cases dealing with murder, voluntary manslaughter, loss of control, and sufficient evidence. It examines the evidences of loss of control in the cases which are reportedly insufficient that led the courts to dismiss the appeals. Also explored are the rights of defendants to seek to be excused from being held guilty for murder.

The article discusses the acquittal by an Italian appeals court of six experts, including Giulio Selvaggi and Enzo Boschi, who were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison in 2012 for giving advice ahead of the 2009 earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy that killed 309 people. Reportedly, only former deputy head of Italy’s Civil Protection Department, Bernardo De Bernardinis, remains in prison on proof some of the victims acted on his advice.