United Kingdom Law/Reform/Draft Homicide Bill

Draft Bill
An Act to amend the law relating to homicide and suicide.

[The normal words of enactment go here]

Murder

1.-(1) A person guilty of murder shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life. (2) A killing shall not amount to murder unless done with intent to kill.

Manslaughter

2. A person guilty of manslaughter shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life.

Suicide

3. It is not an offence for a person to commit suicide.

Encouraging or assisting suicide

4.-(1) A person ("D") commits an offence if-
 * (a) D does an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide or attempted suicide of another person, and
 * (b) D's act was intended to encourage or assist suicide or an attempt at suicide.

(2) The person referred to in subsection (1)(a) need not be a specific person (or class or persons) known to, or identfied by, D. (3) D may commit an offence under this section whether or not a suicide, or an attempt at suicide, occurs. (4) An offence under this section is triable on indictment and a person convicted of such an offence is liable to imprisonment for life. (5) If on the trial of an indictment for murder or manslaughter of a person it is proved that the deceased person committed suicide, and the accused committed an offence under subsection (1) in relation to that suicide, the jury may find the accused guilty of the offence under subsection (1).

Acts capable of assisting or encoraging suicide

5.-(1) If D arranges for a person ("D2") to do an act that is capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide or attempted suicide of another person and D2 does that act, D is also to be treated for the purposes of section 4 as having done it. (2) Where the facts are such that an act is not capable of encouraging or assisting suicide or attempted suicide, for the purposes of section 4 and this section it is to be treated as so capable had the facts been as D believed them to be at the time of the act or had subsequent events happened in the manner D believed they would happen (or both). (3) A reference in section 4 or this section to a person ("P") doing an act that is capable of encouraging the suicide or attempted suicide of another person includes a reference to P doing so by threatening another person or otherwise putting pressure on another person to commit or attempt suicide.

Course of conduct

6. A reference in section 4 or 5 to an act includes a reference to a course of conduct, and a reference to doing an act is to be read accordingly.

Citation, extent and repeals

(1) This Act may be cited as the Homicide Act 2013. (2) This Act extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland. (3) The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

SCHEDULE