> Doug wrote:
>

>>
>> And not relevent as it was a stabbing. The vast majority of motorists
>> who kill are not even convicted of manslaughter let alone murder.
>>

> In England & Wales:-
>
> Murder is defined as the deliberate & preplanned taking of a human life.
> Unless they *deliberately* and with malice aforethought aim their
> vehicle at another person with the intention of causing that person's
> death, whether that other person is in or on another vehicle or not,
> this cannot apply to any vehicle operator. (Including cyclists)
>
> Manslaughter is when a death is caused as a result of a *grossly*
> negligent action by the defendant. An example would be a person striking
> another with their fist or another object, intending to injure them, but
> accidentally causing their death. Where vehicle operation is concerned,
> this set of circumstances is very difficult to prove in court, which is
> why there is a separate offence of causing death by dangerous driving.
> This requires a lower standard of proof, with the resulting lesser
> maximum penalty.
>
> There is no equivalent offence for cyclists, which means that any death
> caused by a cyclist has to be charged as manslaughter or murder, & so
> most of these occurrences are (I believe and am open to correction here)
> treated as accidental death.
>