Understanding the Legal Defences Available for Murder Charges

When you or a loved one has been charged with murder or manslaughter, the job of your criminal defence lawyer is to argue successfully for either an acquittal to avoid any conviction or to help you plea for a lesser charge. To go about this, there are a few defences for murder and manslaughter charges that can be employed. How a lawyer for murder charges will go about this will depend on the details of your case. At Karrass Law, our team prides themselves on skillfully and robustly defending our clients to deliver the best results possible for their individual situations. 

Everyone accused of a crime in Ontario and in Canada, including murder, is entitled to a fair trial and legal representation. If you've been charged with murder or manslaughter and are seeking legal advice and representation, contact the trusted legal team at Karrass Law. 

Here are some of the legal defences used by lawyers when fighting murder charges.

Self-Defence

The Canadian Criminal Code allows individuals to use reasonable force to protect themselves if they are in imminent danger. Here, imminent danger could be any situation where they are preventing their own death or serious bodily harm. Self-defence is one of the most widely used legal defences raised by lawyers for murder charges. Ultimately, self-defence is considered a viable defence when the accused feels they have no other option but to protect their own life. 

In Ontario, your criminal lawyer will have to establish that there was:

• A reasonable reason for you to believe that you were in immediate danger.
• Proportional force used compared to the threat you faced.
• No reasonable possibility of retreating from or escape the situation.

Ontario's courts look closely at all circumstances, including the nature of the threat, the relationship between the parties, and whether the force used was excessive.

Defence of Others

Similar to self-defence, your criminal defence lawyer may also argue that your actions that resulted in the death of an individual were in defence of someone else. Here, the claim is that you were protecting someone who was in imminent danger of being severely harmed or killed. Like with self-defence, your lawyer for murder charges should be able to prove that proportional force was used, the affected person could not retreat from the situation, and that the action was reasonable in the circumstances. 

In Ontario, the law may also permit the use of force to defend others under certain circumstances. In murder cases, this defence argues that the defendant killed the victim in order to protect another person who was in imminent danger of being seriously harmed or killed.

Mental Disorder Defense

Under the Canadian Criminal Code, individuals who suffer from severe mental illnesses may be found Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) for murder if they were incapable of understanding the nature or quality of their actions at the time of the offence. This is often referred to, colloquially, as the insanity defence. According to the Canadian Criminal Code, "No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong."

To leverage this defence in Ontario successfully, your criminal defence lawyer must present evidence, usually through psychiatric assessments, showing that:

• The defendant was suffering from a mental disorder.
• The disorder rendered the defendant incapable of appreciating the nature and consequences of their actions.
• The defendant could not differentiate between right and wrong at the time of the offence.

When your criminal defence lawyer can successfully present this defence, and the defendant is found not criminally responsible, the defendant is placed under the supervision of the Ontario Review Board. A "Not Criminally Responsible" or NCR will not result in criminal punishment, but other actions may be taken to protect society from potentially harmful behaviour. 

Accidental Killing

During murder trials in Ontario, prosecutors must be able to prove to a jury that the defendant had an intention to kill beyond a reasonable doubt. To be found guilty of first-degree murder, the prosecution must prove that the incident was planned or premeditated. For second-degree murder, death must still be the intended outcome but will be the result of a "heat-of-the-moment" action. If the act that resulted in death was unintentional, such as in a car accident or the result of negligence, then the charges can be reduced in some cases from murder to manslaughter or criminal negligence. 

Mistaken Identity

In some murder cases, the defendant may raise the defence of mistaken identity, essentially asserting that they were wrongfully accused. A criminal defence lawyer using this defence will focus on creating doubt about whether the defendant was actually the person who committed the crime. If you have been wrongfully convicted of a crime, contact the Karrass Law team. In addition to being experienced criminal defence lawyers in Toronto and Ontario, we also provide appellate legal services.

To establish that there could be mistaken identity or that the wrong person was charged, some elements your defence lawyer will explore:

• Alibi evidence that places the defendant elsewhere at the time of the crime.
• Eyewitness testimony that is inconsistent or unreliable.
• DNA or other forensic evidence that fails to link the defendant to the scene of the crime.

Duress or Coercion

Another possible defence to murder charges is duress or coercion. In these situations, your lawyer will argue that you were forced to commit the murder under the threat of serious harm or death to yourself or someone else you love. Essentially, in this situation, your actions that resulted in death are not considered voluntary but the result of overwhelming pressure or threats from another person.

To succeed with a duress defence, the criminal defence lawyer must demonstrate that:

While this defence can be effective in some cases, it may be difficult to prove, particularly when the court expects a certain level of personal accountability, even in high-pressure situations. If you or a loved one has found themselves charged with murder, which was committed out of duress or coercion, contact the highly-regarded criminal defence lawyers at Karrass Law. 

Expert Legal Advice and Representation

Facing murder charges can be overwhelming, and it is vital to seek legal advice from a qualified attorney as soon as possible. A criminal defence lawyer with experience in murder cases can evaluate the specific facts of the case, determine which defences might be viable, and craft a solid legal strategy tailored to the circumstances. 

Trusted Criminal Defence Lawyer in Toronto and Ontario

At Karrass Law, our team of criminal defence lawyers are experienced with many areas of the law, giving us the expertise to defend you better. The award-winning and skilled legal experts that make up the Karrass Law team, including Robert Karrass, are here to provide you with robust, judgment-free representation that generates the best results possible. 

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