There is significant debate about the attribution of criminal responsibility for involuntary manslaughter to a defendant who has subjected a victim to a protracted campaign of emotional abuse (falling short of psychiatric injury), where the victim has consequently taken their own life. By virtue of it having been subjected to the most comprehensive judicial and academic scrutiny in this context, the primary focus of this discussion is on the applicability of the unlawful act manslaughter offence to the circumstances described above. The offence requires proof that the victim was placed at risk of some harm by virtue of the defendant’s criminal conduct and that the abusive conduct significantly contributed to the victim’s death. The accused does not have to foresee or intend the victim’s death, and while the imposition of criminal responsibility for serious homicide offences in cases where the defendant displays no subjective advertence to the risk of death has long been controversial, it is nonetheless well established in English and Welsh criminal law. Therefore, assuming satisfaction of the requisite offence elements, there is arguably no principled reason to deny the extension of liability to domestic abuse-induced suicide cases. It is proposed that a more progressive and transparent approach to the interpretation of the unlawful act manslaughter offence requirements provides the most appropriate means of securing prosecutions in deserving cases, although alternative options for the imposition of liability—the offence of gross negligence manslaughter and the creation of a context-specific homicide offence—are also acknowledged. It is argued that the constructive manslaughter offence label reflects both the moral culpability of the perpetrator’s patterned and invasive conduct and the exceptional gravity of the harm caused by non-physical domestic abuse.

中文翻译：

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家庭虐待、自杀和误杀责任：为受害者伸张正义

关于将非自愿杀人罪的刑事责任归属于使受害者遭受长期情感虐待（未达到精神伤害）的被告人的刑事责任存在重大争论，受害者因此自杀。由于在这方面受到了最全面的司法和学术审查，本次讨论的主要重点是非法行为过失杀人罪对上述情况的适用性。该罪行需要证明受害人因被告的犯罪行为而面临某种伤害的风险，并且虐待行为对受害人的死亡造成了重大影响。被告不必预见或打算受害者的死亡，虽然在被告人对死亡风险没有主观意识的情况下对严重杀人罪追究刑事责任长期以来一直存在争议，但它在英国和威尔士刑法中得到了很好的确立。因此，假设满足必要的犯罪要素，可以说没有原则性的理由拒绝将责任扩大到家庭虐待引发的自杀案件。建议对非法行为过失杀人罪要求的解释采用更渐进和透明的方法提供最合适的手段，以确保在应得的案件中受到起诉，尽管施加责任的替代选择 - 严重过失杀人罪和创造特定情况下的凶杀犯罪——也被承认。