Question: “Justified conduct is correct behaviour which is encouraged or at least tolerated. ...An excuse represents a legal conclusion that the conduct is wrong, undesirable, but that criminal liability is inappropriate because some characteristic of the actor vitiates society’s desire to punish him.”
Explain and discuss.
Answer: In English law, there is a steadfast refusal to take the motive of the accused into account; concentrating rather on somewhat strained constructions of intention. Only when a guilty verdict is delivered is motive admitted as a factor in mitigation. It is submitted however, that intentions are not conjured up out of thin air but are a product of a combination of desires and beliefs which must be seen in their social and factual context. Traditional legal doctrine required that blame attached to the individual alone; otherwise it was feared that the poor and the hungry could legitimately claim that they had acted from a good or justifiable motive. Thus, motive is regarded as all but irrelevant. It is proposed to show that the blameworthiness of a person’s actions is an important eleme......(short extract)
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Details: - Mark: 68% | Course: Criminal Law | Year: 2nd/3rd | Words: 3533 | References: Yes | Date written: October, 2004 | Date submitted: October 11, 2008 | Coursework ID: 20
