ABSTRACT
For common law crimes an omission is only sufficient for the actus reus where there is a duty to act. This can be:
A contractual duty; in Pittwood (1902) a railway crossing keeper omitted to shut the gates so that a person crossing the line was struck
and killed by a train. The keeper was guilty of manslaughter. A duty by virtue of a relationship, usually parent and child; in Gibbins
and Proctor (1918) a child’s father and his mistress failed to feed the child, so that it died of starvation; they were guilty of murder. In Evans (2009) a mother and sister were convicted of gross negligence manslaughter when they failed to take any action although they knew that V had taken drugs and was ill.
