Dying Declaration Exception

A dying declaration is testimony that would normally be barred as hearsay but may be admitted as evidence in criminal law trials because it constituted the last words of a dying person. It is admitted because someone who is dying or believes death to be imminent would have less incentive to fabricate testimony, and as such, the hearsay statement carries some reliability.

The rationale is that someone who is dying or believes death to be imminent would have less incentive to fabricate testimony, and as such, the hearsay statement carries with it some reliability.

The principle originated in medieval English courts with the phrase 'Nemo moriturus praesumitur mentiri' which means 'no-one on the point of death should be presumed to be lying'.

<p>In common law, a dying declaration must be a statement made by a deceased person who would otherwise have been a credible witness to their own death by murder or manslaughter, and was of 'settled hopeless expectation of death'.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>England and Wales</p> Signup and view all the answers