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Kerry King, A lesser species of homicide: Death, drivers and the law

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Date01 September 2020
DOI10.1177/0004865820941119
Published date01 September 2020
Subject MatterBook review
untitled
Australian & New Zealand Journal of
Book review
Criminology
2020, Vol. 53(3) 454–455
! The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0004865820941119
journals.sagepub.com/home/anj
Kerry King, A lesser species of homicide: Death, drivers and the law. University of
Western Australia Press: Australia, 2020; 448 pp. ISBN 9781760800024,
$34.99 (pbk)
Reviewed by: Heng Choon (Oliver) Chan, City University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong, S.A.R
Arguably the first study of its kind in the world, A Lesser Species of Homicide: Death,
Drivers and the Law by Kerry King explores how governing bodies, prosecutors, police
and courts in Western Australia responded to deaths caused by the use of motor vehicles
between 1946 and 2018. King makes a novel attempt to go beyond motor vehicle fatality
statistics by offering a new perspective on important issues surrounding the law’s
response to death caused by the use of motor vehicles. The book specifically examines
the development, interpretation and application of vehicular homicide offenses over a
70-year period, with reference to parliamentary debate, emerging case law, judicial
reasoning, verdicts and sentences, individual cases and the experiences of those involved.
This piece of scholarship on the social construction of road death contains 10 chapters,
in addition to an introduction and a conclusion.
The book is well-organised. In the opening chapter, King introduces the reader to the
history of criminal law on manslaughter and negligent driving causing death, from its
introduction in 1946 until its abolition in 1974. Although it is estimated that 6500
human lives have been lost on Western Australian roads, directly or indirectly caused
by negligent driving, only 319 defendants have been charged. The next two chapters
provide an informative overview of the corresponding Supreme Court trials, aiding
understanding of the indictments, verdicts and sentencing trends. A total of 403 cases
of interest are identified for the...

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