The Crime and Punishment of Homicide

The authors of this book examine the ways in which, over the years, the criminal law of England has sought to provide penalties thought to be appropriate in the light of the prevailing moral climate. Since the ending of capital punishment new problems have arisen, such as the way in which murder is distinguished from other kinds of homicide, and the criteria affecting decisions about release from life imprisonment. The potential conflict between the roles of the executive and of the judiciary, the latter largely insulated from the pressures of the political arena, remains essentially unresolved. The book also addresses a question likely to prove controversial among those concerned with the criminal law, namely the proposal that the current distinctions between murder, manslaughter, and other categories of unlawful killing, should be abolished, and that the law should recognize a single crime, culpable homicide.