Research Paper on:
Liability in Criminal Cases

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
are a number of diverse and complex elements in the British legal system regarding the taking of human life, many of which are illustrated in this sample case. For example,  the law draws distinctions between the actual act of killing and the extent of the liability which can be attributed to those involved in the death, depending on the circumstances  surrounding the events, the intentions of the parties concerned, and so on.  In some cases, for instance, there is not a direct line of cause and event which links the killer to the victim,  which makes it more difficult to apportion liability and for the court to decide who, if anyone, is directly responsible for the death. In others, it may be the case  that although death has resulted, this was not the intention of the person who caused the death, and who may well not even be aware that death was the consequence  of their actions: if one person knocks a heavy flowerpot off a high windowsill, for example, and it hits and kills another who was passing below, it is certainly the  case that the person above has caused the death, but the degree of liability would depend, amongst other issues, on how likely the presence of the passer-by would have been.  In addition, it is possible for one person to have the intention of killing another, but to cause the death of someone else instead, which means that the intention and  the action are both present, but the outcome itself is not that which was intended.