Law:

Section:

Criminal trial--- Murder---Attempted murder---Defence---Duress---Whether duress available as defence to charge of attempted murder. In 1989 the appellant, who was then aged 16, seriously injured his mother with a knife. He was charged, inter alia, with attempted murder, to which he pleaded not guilty. At his trial he sought to adduce by way of defence evidence to show that at the time he attempted to kill his mother he was acting under duress because his father had threatened to shot him unless he killed her. The judge ruled that such evidence was inadmissible since duress was not as a matter of law a defence to a charge of attempted murder. The appellant hen pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted. He appealed on the ground that duress was a defence to a charge of attempted murder but the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal. 'He appealed to the House of Lords, contending that historically duress had always been available as a defence at common law except in cases of murder and treason and that murder being a result-related crime the defence of duress ought to be available if the result was not achieved. Held (Lord Keith and Lord Lowry dissenting)--Duress was not available as a defence to a charge of attempted murder since there would be no justification in logic, morality or law in the defence being available on a charge of attempted murder when it was not available on a charge of murder, having regard to the fact that attempted murder required proof of an intent td kill whereas in murder it was sufficient to prove the lesser intent to cause serious injury. It was always pure chance that the attempted murderer was not a murderer and the fact that the attempt failed to kill should not make any difference to the defences available to the accused. Accordingly, as a matter of policy the defence of duress was not open to the appellant in relation to the charge of attempted murder and the appeal would therefore be dismissed dicta "'1 of Lord Griffiths in R v. Howe [1987) 1 All ER 771 at 785, 790 applied. Per Lord Keith, Lord Templeman, Lord Jauncey and Lord Browne Wilkinson. Given the climate of violence and terrorism which ordinary law abiding citizens now…

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