The offence of murder is out-dated and is urgently in need of reform. To what extent do you agree?

Murder is a common law offence which is defined as unlawfully causing the death of a human being under the Queens peace. The mens rea of murder is malice aforethought meaning that intention is crucial for a conviction of murder. There are many different areas of murder that raise questions and attract criticism such as a defendant being guilty of murder for having intent to cause very serious harm.A foetus is not considered to be a human being and a victim of homicide due to not having separate existence from its mother. It is required that the foetus is wholly expelled before being able to be a victim of murder. In the case of Att Gen Ref it is seen that the mother is stabbed during her pregnancy and the baby is born prematurely but still dies from the injuries. However, the defendant does not escape liability fully as they were charged with manslaughter. The issue of a human being and dead is seen to be out-dated as euthanasia and mercy killings are treated the same as any other murder. In the case of Inglis a mother gave her son a fatal dose of heroin after a major accident suffering major and severe injuries