Recent Judicial Decisions
| Author | David Wicks,Damian Carney |
| Published date | 01 June 2011 |
| Date | 01 June 2011 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1350/pojo.2011.84.2.560 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Judicial Decisions |
DAVID WICKS
Legal Correspondent
Email: dcw@3pumpcourt.com
DAMIAN CARNEY
Legal Correspondent
Email: Damian.Carney@port.ac.uk
RECENT JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Mercy Killing
R v Inglis [2010] EWCA Crim 2637
Court of Appeal
12 November 2010
The Court of Appeal (Lord Judge LCJ, Irwin and Holroyde JJ)
considered the defendant’s appeal against conviction and sen-
tence for murder.
Keywords: Criminal Justice Act 2003; Homicide Act 1957;
mercy killing; minimum term; murder; provocation; sen-
tencing
The facts
The appellant, Frances Inglis, was convicted at the Central
Criminal Court, before the Common Sergeant of London and a
jury, of murdering her son, Thomas. In July 2007, Thomas had
become involved in a fight in which he received a blow to his
head. Against his wishes, he was taken to hospital in an
ambulance. On the journey to hospital, the ambulance door
opened and he fell out, suffering catastrophic head injuries. His
mother, who was suffering from depression, formed the fixed
view that her son was never going to recover and that he would
be a ‘vegetable’ for the rest of his life. In September 2007, she
attempted to kill him by injecting him with heroin as he lay in
his hospital bed. He suffered a cardiac arrest, which led to a
further deterioration in his condition. The defendant was arrested
and charged, but released on bail.
In November 2008, in breach of bail conditions which
forbade her access to her son, she gained entry to the hospital
and administered a further injection of heroin which killed him.
At her trial, she sought to rely on a defence of provocation under
184 The Police Journal, Volume 84 (2011)
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2011.84.2.560
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