Where criminal responsibility is alleged under s 8 of the Criminal Code (Qld) in a case involving escalating violence, the trial judge must direct the jury with specific reference to the individual accused's own actions and intention, identifying the precise point at which the accused is alleged to have shared the escalating common intention. A general direction on s 8 given in the context of all co-accused is insufficient where one accused's position differs materially from the others. It is open for a jury to convict a secondary offender under s 8 of manslaughter only, even where the primary offender is guilty of murder, if the probable consequence of the common purpose shared by the secondary offender was only manslaughter.
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