Vulnerable victims and murder convictions: Partial defence reform in England and Wales

This article considers the partial defence of loss of control and its use in current case law in England and Wales. The legislation in this arena was changed almost 16 years ago to better accommodate the most worthy cases, with particular focus on abuse victims who kill their abuser. With prior academic debate speculating that the partial defences were exploited and used out of context in gang-related violence and male-on-female aggression from infidelity, it is vital to discover if such unjust uses still prevail. This article additionally questions how Australian jurisdictions have solved this problem. Case law since the adoption of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 has been plentiful and provides a true picture of the current operation of this partial defence to murder, including judge-created loopholes. The article will offer novel solutions to the ongoing problems of access to justice, with a particular focus on abuse victims who kill and routes to allowing such victims to raise full and partial defences together without negating each other. The recommendations are based on an adaptation of self-defence, in a similar way to our accommodations for householders, with a new partial defence based on excessive force or self-preservation. This would allow both full and partial defences to run concurrently whilst avoiding the current problems of doing so, offering more opportunity for abuse victims becoming victims of the legal process and convicted of murder. This is significant; it will rid us of the ‘all-or-nothing’ approach relying only on self-defence offers.