R v Nedrick

R v Nedrick (Ransford Delroy) (1986) 8 Cr. App. R. (S.) 179 is an English criminal law case dealing with mens rea. The court said that there may be no case where intention to offend is inferred, unless the actions of the defendant are so dangerous, that death or serious injury is a virtual certainty.

The defendant poured paraffin oil through the letterbox of a house attempting to frighten the owner who he had a grudge against. The house and set alight resulting in a child being killed.

The court set down model guidance for juries in cases where intention was unclear:

“Where the charge is murder and in the rare cases where the simple direction is not enough, the Jury should be directed that they are not entitled to infer the necessary intention unless they feel sure that death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty (barring some unforeseen intervention) as a result of the defendant's actions and that the defendant appreciated that such was the case …The decision is one for the Jury to be reached upon a consideration of all the evidence.” [ ( [1986] 1 W.L.R. 1025)]

This quote simply meaning that 2 questions were to be satified in regard to intent:
1 - That the result wa s a virtual certainty of the action.
AND
2 - That the defendant realised that the result was a virtual certainty of his action

The court said that he should have foreseen that consequences of his actions, and therefore inferred intention to cause injury. The charge was lessened to manslaughter however.

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