Brainteaser: (LLB130) Criminal Law & Procedure Assessment Answers

Criminal Law AssignmentHelp

BRAINTEASER

The following scenario is based loosely on the shipwreck incident in Henrik Ibsen’s poem, Peer Gynt. Study it carefully and then answer ALL THREE (3) questions below:

On Alf’s 21st birthday, he and his mate Bob went sailing in the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, their dinghy capsized and sank far out at sea. Both men were left clinging to a wooden plank that was strong enough to support one but not both of them. No one else was around.

Alf, who was the stronger of the pair, pushed Bob off the plank. Bob, a non-swimmer, drowned. Alf was rescued later that day.

In a statement to the police, Alf said: ‘The plank couldn’t support the two of us. If I hadn’t pushed Bob off, we’d both have drowned’.

Alf has been charged with murder.

1. In which court will the trial take place?
2. Could Alf claim that his act of pushing Bob off the plank was authorised, justified or excused by the Criminal Code (WA) and thus that he was not guilty of murder or any other crime?
3. If convicted of murder, what sentence will Alf receive?

Question 1

Alf’s trial will take place in the Supreme Court’s division called the Trial Division. It is because the trial division is the one which deals with crime cases involving murder or anything related to murder.

Question 2

Alf cannot claim that his act of pushing Bob was justified, authorised or excused by the Criminal Code (WA). Homicide law which is 268 of Criminal Code (WA) that was established in the year 1913 prohibits the act of killing a person intentionally for own benefit. It explains that no one under the law is supposed to kill another person if he/she has not been legally authorised, justified or excused of the act. 270 of the Criminal Code also explains that a person who knowingly, unknowingly, directly, or indirectly causes another person to die, is considered by the law to have committed murder. It does not matter how the person caused it but once he/she is responsible for the death of that person, he/she has to face the full force of the law. In this case, Alf might be found guilty of his action and might lack support to prove his innocence.

However, the fact that someone’s life is not determined by how he was born and how he will die posses a complex situation. It is hard to understand the statutory explanation of when the life of a person starts and when it does end. Bob’s day to die must have reached, and it might be very hard to determine how else he would have died if his hour and minute of dying was the time he died. Maybe, Alf’s time to die might not have arrived, and that is why it happened that way for Bob to be pushed by Alf. Meanwhile, this argument does not make Alf innocent. Following the law, Mark is guilty since he intentionally caused the death of Bob as he pushed him to drown and find a chance to save him-self. The action he took was not authorised, justified nor excused as he had his personal interest of remaining alive. Therefore, Alf caused the death of Bob directly, and this finds him guilty.

Question 3

If convicted of murder, Alf will receive a life imprisonment sentence as the maximum sentence. Once someone has been found to be guilty of the murder by the law, in most cases, a maximum sentence is given. In the case of Alf, if convicted of murder, he would be convicted as having done the act with recklessness, and he was indifferent to human life. The law takes the life of any person to be precious and cannot be bought. Any other person has no to right to commit murder or kill another person just because of his personal intentional whether directly or indirectly. The law does not compromise with such people, and they are usually expected to serve the maximum sentence in prison. Unless a clear representation with genuine reasons comes up, is when the time he/she is supposed to serve in prison can be reduced. Therefore, any person who commits murder is considered to be disobedient and dangerous to the society. As a result, it is only fair for that person to serve a life imprisonment.