Crime CXXXIV– Intoxication X
Intoxication
is not available as a defense when the defendant makes a mistake in instances
of self-intoxication. Prior to reaching a verdict the jury will take into
account all the evidence that is made available to them as per Section 8 of the
Criminal Justice Act (1967).
In
R v O’Grady (1987) the appellant and the victim were friends and they had spent
the day, in the company of another friend, drinking. Between them they had
consumed eight flagons of cider after which they retired to the appellant’s
home.
According
to the appellant he was woken up by the victim and the appellant in
self-defense picked up some broken glass and started hitting the victim over
the head. Once the fight had subsisted, they patched things up and he cooked
both his friends a meal and the three of them then went to bed.
The
defendant and the other friend woke up the next morning to find the victim dead
in bed, he had died as a result of blood loss and further investigation
revealed that the victim had over 20 injuries on his face in addition to severe
bruises on his head, brain, neck, and chest, and a broken rib. The blows were
delivered by a sharp and blunt object.
During
the trial (first instance) the judge directed the jury to the effect that the
defendant or anyone else for the matter is entitled to defend himself or
herself against an imminent threat/attack – “If he made such a mistake in drink
he would nevertheless be entitled to defend himself even though he mistakenly
believed that he was under an attack”.
However,
the defensive measures that the defendant had taken went beyond what was
reasonable and his ability to distinguish between what was reasonable and what
was not was impaired by the drink and because the measures that he had taken
went beyond what was reasonable, the defense of self-defense was not available
to him. The jury convicted for manslaughter and the defendant appealed.
The
appeal was dismissed, and the conviction was upheld. A defendant is not
entitled to rely on self defense when there is a mistake of facts induced by
voluntary intoxication.
“There
were two public interests to be considered. On the one hand the defendant is
entitled to take the steps or measures necessary to protect himself and on the
other hand an innocent victim should be protected from the drunken mistake of
another”. A defendant cannot rely on the defense of self-defense when death or
injury to another results from a mistake caused by his own intoxication. See also R v Keene (2010).
Copyright
© 2019 by Dyarne Ward
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