Where a jury is directed on consciousness of guilt from post-offence conduct (including flight), and manslaughter is left as an alternative verdict, the trial judge must direct the jury to consider whether the conduct evidences a consciousness of guilt of manslaughter (unintentional killing) rather than murder. The failure to give such a direction will result in a miscarriage of justice where the unintentional killing hypothesis is realistic on the evidence. Where counts involving highly prejudicial offences (such as sexual offences against a child) are joined with a murder count, the trial judge must give specific directions on the permissible and impermissible uses of the evidence on each count, and a bare direction that guilty pleas on other counts do not prove guilt of murder is insufficient.
The full text is available to signed-in members.