The offence must be tried at a Crown Court before a judge and jury. After one appearance before a Magistrates Court, the case will be sent directly to the Crown Court. Murder carries a mandatory life sentence.

Under common law murder is defined as the unlawful killing of a human person with malice aforethought. Malice aforethought exists if the defendant acts with any of the following states of mind:

1. Intent to kill
2. Intent to inflict serious bodily harm
3. Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (abandoned and malignant heart)

Murder is committed when a person of “sound mind” unlawfully kills another, with the intention to either kill or cause “grievous bodily harm”

Basic elements:

Murder has two elements or parts:

1. The act of killing a person
2. The state of mind of intentional, purposeful, malicious, premeditated, and/or wanton

Unlawful killings without malice or intent to cause serious harm are considered as manslaughter. Therefore when a person who kills someone, but only intended to hurt them, he or she may be found guilty for manslaughter.

Defences to Murder

Defences to murder include self-defence, insanity, and in certain cases provocation.

At MTA we shall leave no stone unturned in preparing your case. We understand you are putting your future in our hands, a responsibility that we take seriously.

If required we shall instruct our own Forensic experts, Pathologist, and or Ballistic expert to help win your case.

We shall take you through all of the prosecution evidence and advise you on the strengths and weaknesses of the Crown’s case.

We shall only instruct a Barrister that has dealt with such cases for several years, preferably a Q.C and a junior barrister to assist. In such cases, our emphasis is to have a team of solicitors and barristers conduct your case, of course you are part of the team, and by working together we shall obtain only the best result for you.