Murder is the unlawful killing of another person by someone of sound mind who intends to kill or cause them grievous bodily harm. Manslaughter is where someone causes the death of another person, but without intending to kill them or seriously harm them.

Murder is an indictable offence which is dealt with in the Crown Court. During a trial, the prosecution must prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to kill or cause GBH whilst of sound mind. The sentence if convicted of murder is life imprisonment. This means the Court will fix a minimum term to be served in prison before being eligible for parole. Once released a person will remain on licence for the rest of their life.

A complete defence to murder is self-defence. Any person can use 'reasonable force' to protect themselves. The force used must be reasonable to the risk perceived to provide a valid defence.

A partial defence to murder could reduce the more serious offence of murder to manslaughter.

Diminished responsibility is a partial defence. If you can prove diminished responsibility, whereby a person's mental functions were diminished at the time the offence was committed, a murder charge could be reduced to involuntary manslaughter.

Loss of control is another partial defence (previously known as provocation). This is available where the deceased's behaviour was such that any reasonable person would have lost control. However, there needs to be a qualifying trigger for the action. Qualifying triggers include loss of control from a fear of serious violence from the victim and/or loss of control to things done or said which resulted in the accused having a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged.

Your solicitor will discuss any potential partial or full defences for murder that may apply in your circumstances to help build the most robust criminal defence for murder possible.

If a person plans or participates in the planning of the murder of another person, the charge being faced will be conspiracy to murder. The prosecution must prove there was intent to cause serious GBH or death. You could be facing life imprisonment for a conspiracy to murder charge.

If you or somebody you know is being charged for conspiracy to murder, contact our criminal defence team today on 01772 220 022 or get in touch here.

Legal Aid may be available for legal defence representation in murder or conspiracy to murder.

The criminal defence team at Forbes have a wide range of experience when it comes to murder cases and are accustomed to all of the various processes and procedures involved. Receiving expert legal advice for murder if you are accused of or questioned in relation to this crime is vital, at the earliest possible opportunity.

We are proud of our dedicated and sympathetic approach to murder defence cases and offer truly specialist support during the entire process. Click here to contact our criminal defence lawyers, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.