R v Stephenson (Thomas Edward)
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 01 January 1947 |
| Date | 01 January 1947 |
| Court | Court of Criminal Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
Dying declaration - Admissibility -Declaration procured by interrogation of deceased - Evidence of accomplices -Corroboration - Direction to jury.
The accused was convicted of the manslaughter of a girl by using an instrument to procure an abortion which resulted in the girl's death. A written statement signed by the deceased girl was admitted in evidence at the trial as a dying declaration although it appeared that the statement had been obtained by an interrogation of the deceased by a police inspector. Evidence for the prosecution was also given by C. who had knowingly taken the girl to the accused's premises in order to procure an abortion. For the accused it was contended that the dying declaration was wrongly admitted; that the dying declaration and the evidence of C. were the testimony of accomplices, and that the jury had not been properly directed on the danger of acting on such testimony without corroboration; and that the trial judge had failed to give the jury sufficient guidance as to the nature of a dying declaration and the considerations bearing upon the weight to be attached to such declarations. Held, (i) that a statement otherwise admissible as a dying declaration is not rendered inadmissible on the ground that it is obtained by questions put to the deceased, though that fact may affect the weight to be attached to such a declaration. Rex v. FitzpatrickDLTR (1910) 46 I.L.T.R. 173 followed. (ii) that a warning to the jury of the danger of acting on...
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