Part IHomicide and Manslaughter

1 Murder

(1)Whosoever shall unlawfully kill any reasonable creature in being under the King's peace with malice aforethought, either express or implied, shall be guilty of murder.

(2)Every person convicted of murder shall suffer death or be sentenced to imprisonment for life in accordance with the law governing capital offences.

2 Manslaughter

(1)Where a person unlawfully kills another without malice aforethought, or under circumstances of provocation or diminished responsibility, he shall be guilty of manslaughter.

(2)Every person convicted of manslaughter shall be liable to imprisonment for life or for any term of years, or to pay such fine as the court may award.

Part IIActs Causing Bodily Harm

3 Wounding and Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent

Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or cause any grievous bodily harm to any person, with intent to do some grievous bodily harm, or with intent to resist or prevent the lawful apprehension or detainer of any person, shall be guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for life.

4 Malicious Wounding and Inflicting Bodily Harm

Whosoever shall unlawfully and maliciously wound or inflict any grievous bodily harm upon any other person, either with or without any weapon or instrument, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Part IIIAssaults

5 Actual Bodily Harm

Whosoever shall be convicted of any assault occasioning actual bodily harm shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

6 Common Assault and Battery

(1)Whosoever unlawfully assaults or beats any person shall be guilty of common assault.

(2)On conviction on indictment, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year; or on summary conviction before two justices to a fine not exceeding £5 or to imprisonment for not more than two months.

Part IVGeneral

7 Citation

This Act may be cited as the Offences Against the Person Act.