R v Williamson

The Court of Criminal Appeal of South Australia heard an appeal against a conviction for murder. The appellant admitted that he caused the death of the deceased, Michael Joseph Heinrich, by stabbing him with a knife, but claimed that he did not realise he had the knife in his hand at the time of the incident. The jury convicted the appellant of murder, but the Court of Criminal Appeal set aside the conviction and ordered a retrial. The Court found that the trial judge's summing up was inadequate in several respects. Firstly, the summing up did not adequately distinguish between the knowledge that the knife was in the hand of the accused and the specific mental states that had to be proved for a conviction of murder. Secondly, the summing up did not adequately address the effect of intoxication on the accused's ability to form the necessary intent for a conviction of murder. Thirdly, the summing up did not adequately address the issue of voluntariness and whether the act which caused death was voluntary. Finally, the summing up did not adequately address the issue of self-defence, which the Court found was not necessary to leave to the jury given the evidence presented. The Court found that the inadequate summing up had the potential to mislead the jury and therefore ordered a retrial.