Introduction
In the matter of R v Francis , the defendant (Glen Reginald Francis) was being tried for the attempted murder of Timothy Udris. On 8th June 2014, Glenn Francis (‘Francis’) attacked Timothy Udris (‘Udris’), who was hit at least two times with a claw hammer to the skull. The Crown submitted that Francis had attempted to murder Udris, under s306 Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld).
The issue of law that is being argued is whether Francis ‘attempted to murder’ Udris. This report will look at the definition of attempted murder and attempts to commit offences through s306 and s4 Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld). S 306 and s 4 sets out the principles of law on these two areas and how they relate to the matter of R v Francis.
Legal Issue:
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‘Attempts to commit offences’ is defined in s 4 (1) as:
(1) When a person, intending to commit an offence, begins to put the person's intention into execution by means adapted to its fulfillment, and manifests the person's intention by some overt act, but does not fulfill the person's intention to such an extent as to commit the offence, the person is said to attempt to commit the offence.
Barbeler presents the three components of attempt that the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable. These three elements are; the defendant had an intention to kill, this intention to kill was put into execution by means adapted to its fulfillment, and the defendant demonstrated the intention to kill by some overt act.
These elements will be addressed below.
Did Francis have an intention to kill Udris?
The first element that must be satisfied is Francis had the intention to kill Udris at the time.
Intention is a state of mind and is not defined in the Criminal Code. For this reason the courts in Queensland have had difficulty determining what is intent. For this reason intention is generally not elaborated as it misleads and confuses the jury. However, as presented in Glebow, there are specific cases where it is appropriate to expand upon intent. Justice Davies in Glebow stated intention could be looked at