Murder / Culpable Homicide

• Factual Innocence: If the Crown is unable to prove the essential elements of the particular offence beyond a reasonable doubt, they will have failed to discharge their burden, and the accused will be acquitted.
• Self-Defence: One’s actions may be justified in certain circumstances, such as where one has to protect himself or someone else. In order to successfully argue self-defence, one must be able to demonstrate that:
  • there were reasonable grounds to believe that he or others were at risk of acts of force or the threat of force;
  • the accused’s actions were committed for the purpose of defending or protecting themselves or someone else; and
  • the act committed was reasonable in the circumstances.
• Non-Mental Disorder Automatism: Automatism can be raised as a defence in rare circumstances. Automatism deals with unconscious and involuntary behaviour. Examples of causes of non-mental disorder automatism include sleep disorders, a blow to the head, or the involuntary consumption of an illegal substance.
• Mental Disorder Automatism: If someone is found not criminally responsible as a result of mental disorder, they are still responsible for the act, but may have lacked the mental capacity required for criminal responsibility.
• Provocation: There is also a partial defence of Provocation. When an intentional killing occurred in circumstances where the Accused was provoked, a defence of Provocation may be argued. Given the current state of the law, however, Murder cases are not often reduced to Manslaughter as a result of Provocation.

Murder is generally understood as the intentional and unlawful killing of another human being. The amount of proof regarding the planning and deliberation of the murder is a key consideration in determining whether a person will be charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter.

One commits homicide when he or she causes, either directly or indirectly, someone’s death. Culpable homicide requires the circumstances specified by law to establish criminal responsibility. However, the intent does not necessarily have to be to cause death. One may still have the requisite intent where, for example, he or she commits an unlawful act that then causes the death of an individual.

Under section 222(5) of the Criminal Code, a person commits culpable homicide when he or she causes the death of a human being:

• by means of an unlawful act;
• by criminal negligence;
• by causing the victim, by threats or fear of violence or by deception, to do anything that causes their death; or
• by wilfully frightening the victim, in the case of a child or sick person.

These murders are typically deliberate and premeditated. However, they need not always be and can involve murders during the course of certain offences such as sexual assault, kidnapping, taking a hostage, or the killing of a peace officer.

A conviction for First Degree Murder carries a mandatory life sentence, with parole eligibility generally not available for 25 years.

Manslaughter refers to a killing as a result of a criminal act, where there was no specific intention to cause death. It is considered a lesser, but included offence of First or Second Degree Murder.

Second-degree murder involves an intentional killing that was not pre-planned and did not occur during the circumstances described under First Degree Murder.

A conviction for Second Degree Murder also carries a mandatory life sentence, but the sentencing judge has the ability to set parole eligibility between 10 and 25 years.

• What Is Criminal Negligence Causing Death?
• What Are The Potential Defences For Murder?

• Factual Innocence: If the Crown is unable to prove the essential elements of the particular offence beyond a reasonable doubt, they will have failed to discharge their burden, and the accused will be acquitted.
• Self-Defence: One’s actions may be justified in certain circumstances, such as where one has to protect himself or someone else. In order to successfully argue self-defence, one must be able to demonstrate that:
  • there were reasonable grounds to believe that he or others were at risk of acts of force or the threat of force;
  • the accused’s actions were committed for the purpose of defending or protecting themselves or someone else; and
  • the act committed was reasonable in the circumstances.
• Non-Mental Disorder Automatism: Automatism can be raised as a defence in rare circumstances. Automatism deals with unconscious and involuntary behaviour. Examples of causes of non-mental disorder automatism include sleep disorders, a blow to the head, or the involuntary consumption of an illegal substance.
• Mental Disorder Automatism: If someone is found not criminally responsible as a result of mental disorder, they are still responsible for the act, but may have lacked the mental capacity required for criminal responsibility.
• Provocation: There is also a partial defence of Provocation. When an intentional killing occurred in circumstances where the Accused was provoked, a defence of Provocation may be argued. Given the current state of the law, however, Murder cases are not often reduced to Manslaughter as a result of Provocation.

• Record Suspensions (formally “Pardons”)
  • What Is A Pardon

A pardon, now known as a “record suspension”, provides an individual with a criminal conviction an opportunity, after the passage of a set amount of time, to have their criminal record suspended. The types of charges, the sentences the person received, and the dates they were sentenced are all key factors in determining whether a person would qualify.

The Parole Board of Canada is the authority that oversees record suspensions. If an application to the Parole Board is approved, an individual with a criminal record may have their record suspended, subject to the applicable federal legislation. However, the Parole Board reserves the right to refuse or revoke record suspensions in circumstances permitted by law.