판결 이유
The 'but for' test of factual causation: the defendant's act must be a factual cause of the prohibited result. If the victim would have died the same way regardless, causation is not established.
사실관계
White put potassium cyanide in his mother's drink intending to kill her. She was found dead but medical evidence showed she died of heart failure, not poisoning.
판결 요약
White was acquitted of murder but convicted of attempted murder. The poison did not cause death — the 'but for' test was not satisfied.
주요 인용문
"The prisoner clearly intended to murder his mother by administering poison. But the medical evidence shows that she did not die from poison but from heart failure."
— The Court
후속 처리
Good law
Standard illustration of the 'but for' test of causation in criminal law.