A lively, accessible and stimulating book on the cases that have shaped UK murder law.
Murder: The Biography is lawyer Kate Morgan’s comprehensive account of UK murder law, from its early origins through to the landmark real-life cases which have contributed to its development and the changing attitudes of society that have shaped it. The book also illustrates how murder is far less black and white than we often imagine it to be and given that in reality not all murders are created equal, it has proven in practice a far more slippery concept for the justice system to prosecute. Beginning with a consideration of society’s seemingly insatiable appetite for murder with the origins of murder ballads such as ‘Mack the Knife’ and following its progression through to today’s obsession with true-crime podcasts, the book is extraordinarily wide-ranging. The history dates tight back to the Viking landing in the ninth century and the gradual emergence of a concept that loosely translates as a secret killing. From there Kate Morgan recounts the first attempt at a definitive statement of the law, including tackling the contentious legal dividing line between murder and manslaughter, made by renowned jurist Sir Edward Coke in the first half of the 17th century. Encountering some extraordinary cases along the way, from the little known to the infamous, the book is an enlightening look at homicide in the twenty-first century.
Cases include that of Daniel M’Naughten and the consideration of his sanity at the time of committing a crime with the implementation of the ‘M’Naughten Rules’ to define the criminally insane that are still used today. The first defence of necessity is also illustrated with the case of the crewmates of cannibalised cabin boy, Richard Parker, in a rather macabre Victorian example and the story of Dr Percy Bateman, the doctor whose botched procedure changed the law on manslaughter, is also featured. Issues such a diminished responsibility and its tricky history is clarified and the question of provocation is exemplified by the hanging of Ruth Ellis and the groundswell of public unease surrounding the history of abuse she suffered. Morgan also sets out the case of Derek Bentley and the joint enterprise conviction that saw him hang and was subsequently overturned. Atrocities which drew collective public horror, including that at Aberfan, Hillsborough, the Grenfell tower fire and the sinking of the Marchioness all feature with the book looking at corporate manslaughter and also the matter of death by dangerous driving.
Meticulously researched and impressively detailed, the book is hugely accessible and Kate Morgan writes engagingly with a focus on the colourful cases that hold readers attention in a way that a dry recounting of facts could never hope to. Whilst there are some notably gruesome and macabre stories featured along the way, the focus is on the implications that these have had, and how they have contributed to altering UK murder law. It is definitely not the right book for readers after a gratuitous history of infamous UK cases and it is also a book that the reader has to actively engage with, and think about, to get the best out of. I came away having been entertained and satisfied that I had learnt far more than i envisaged.
Cases include that of Daniel M’Naughten and the consideration of his sanity at the time of committing a crime with the implementation of the ‘M’Naughten Rules’ to define the criminally insane that are still used today. The first defence of necessity is also illustrated with the case of the crewmates of cannibalised cabin boy, Richard Parker, in a rather macabre Victorian example and the story of Dr Percy Bateman, the doctor whose botched procedure changed the law on manslaughter, is also featured. Issues such a diminished responsibility and its tricky history is clarified and the question of provocation is exemplified by the hanging of Ruth Ellis and the groundswell of public unease surrounding the history of abuse she suffered. Morgan also sets out the case of Derek Bentley and the joint enterprise conviction that saw him hang and was subsequently overturned. Atrocities which drew collective public horror, including that at Aberfan, Hillsborough, the Grenfell tower fire and the sinking of the Marchioness all feature with the book looking at corporate manslaughter and also the matter of death by dangerous driving.
Meticulously researched and impressively detailed, the book is hugely accessible and Kate Morgan writes engagingly with a focus on the colourful cases that hold readers attention in a way that a dry recounting of facts could never hope to. Whilst there are some notably gruesome and macabre stories featured along the way, the focus is on the implications that these have had, and how they have contributed to altering UK murder law. It is definitely not the right book for readers after a gratuitous history of infamous UK cases and it is also a book that the reader has to actively engage with, and think about, to get the best out of. I came away having been entertained and satisfied that I had learnt far more than i envisaged.