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Regina v. Cunningham, 41 Crim. App. R. 155 Decision by Court of Criminal Appeal, 1957 Facts: Appellant was convicted of maliciously allowing Sarah Wade to inhale a noxious substance. Both individuals were living in a home which had been previously divided into two when the Appellant removed the gas meter from the gas pipe in order to steal the money inside of the meter. This action caused the flow of gases to enter the home of Sarah Wade and asphyxiate her while she was asleep. The appellant pleaded guilty to the charge of larceny and did not appeal his case. Charge: Larceny of the gas meter and whether act was done with malicious intention. Trial Court Decision: Defendant pleaded guilty to the charge of larceny because he claimed to be short of money. He did not plead guilty to the act of maliciously injuring Sarah Wade however. A jury found the defendant guilty of this charge as well due to the belief that the defendant must have acted maliciously if Sarah Wade was found injured due to his actions. Legal Issue: 1. Was the defendant acting maliciously in order to harm Sarah Wade by removing the gas meter, for his own benefit, and not turning off the flow of gas to the two homes? 2. Did the defendant foresee some harm resulting from his action of removing the gas pipe yet proceed to act even when there was a chance of doing some harm without malicious intent?

Appellate Court Decision:

1. No, quashed 2. Possibly yes, still quashed Court’s Rationale: Whether or not the defendant acted maliciously when removing the gas meter and injured Srah Wade is debatable. The defendant’s only intention was to steal the gas meter in order to retrieve the money inside of it, he did not recognize that removing the meter may cause the flow of gases to harm other individuals living within the two houses. The issue of acting maliciously in order to harm Sarah Wade was taken out of context due to the fact that the defendant’s actions caused harm to another individual in the end, when harm may have not been his intention. He was guilty of stealing the gas pipe for his own benefit but he did not fully understand the consequences of him doing so....