Double Effect
In medical cases the doctrine of double effect can be used as a defence. As was established by Judge Devlin in the 1957 trial of Dr John Bodkin Adams, causing death through the administration of lethal drugs to a patient, if the intention is solely to alleviate pain, is not considered murder even if death is a potential or even likely outcome.
Read more about this topic: Intention In English Law
Famous quotes containing the words double and/or effect:
“Art has a double face, of expression and illusion, just like science has a double face: the reality of error and the phantom of truth.”
—René Daumal (1908–1944)
“To see distinctly the machinery—the wheels and pinions—of any work of Art is, unquestionably, of itself, a pleasure, but one which we are able to enjoy only just in proportion as we do not enjoy the legitimate effect designed by the artist.”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)