|
|
|
Mistake If Faith believed that the person she was staking was a vampire then she cannot be guilty of murder. This belief does not have to be reasonable (as ruled in the case D.P.P. vs Morgan) but it must be honestly held. Whether or not it was honestly held is a question for the jury to decide and they, in turn, will be influenced by the evidence laid before them. In Faith's favour: she would testify that she believed it was a vampire, that they had just been attacked by two other vampires and that Finch appeared to be attacking them. Buffy could confirm that she believed Finch to be a vampire and that's why she threw him to Faith, and that after the killing Faith said she didn't know he was human. Against Faith: Finch did not have a 'game' face and did not appear to be a vampire. Buffy shouted a warning to stop before he was staked. I repeat that it doesn't matter whether or not Faith's belief was reasonable, she would be trying to convince the jury that she honestly believed Finch to be a vampire. If the jury, in this case us, are convinced that she honestly believed Finch was a vamp then she would not be guilty of murder. She doesn't get off that easily however, the court has the discretion to rule guilty of manslaughter even on a charge of murder. Involuntary manslaughter Involuntary manslaughter is manslaughter 'proper'. There are two kinds of involuntary manslaughter: unlawful act manslaughter (a death that results from an act which is already illegal) and gross negligent manslaughter (a death which results from such negligence that the accused deserves criminal sanctions). Faith could be found guilty under either of these, though it might be difficult to show that Faith was sufficiently negligent to fall under the second category. The discretion is left to the jury. Remember any charge of manslaughter can be rebuffed by a general defence, in this case self-defence mentioned above. Self-defence It was held in the case of Williams "a person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances as he believes them to be". If Finch was a vampire then Faith's staking would have been a proportional response. Presuming that Faith can show that she genuinely did mistake Finch for a vampire, her response, while not proportionate to the threat Finch represented, would nevertheless be excused. Taking all these things into account I would conclude that Faith would not be convicted. Go to Masquerade's Should Allan's death be treated as "Collateral Damage"? Opinions
Your opinion Or you can
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: The Series are the property of the WB Network or perhaps Fox, maybe both. I'll leave them to work it out and contact me with the result. This web site, its operators and any content on this site relating to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are not authorized by Fox. No copyright infringement intended. This site is for entertainment purposes only and does not profit in any way.
The picture was taken from The Official Buffy website and is © the WB.
The Above the Law banner is an altered form of a screen-cap taken from the The Slayer Show, the original screen-cap is © the WB.
|