R v Woods (1982) 74 Cr App R 312

The appellant committed rape whilst intoxicated. He sought to rely on the defence of intoxication.

Held:

The crime of rape is one of basic intent and therefore defence of intoxication was not open to the appellant.

Griffiths LJ:

"If Parliament had meant to provide in future that a man whose lust was so inflamed by drink that he ravished a woman, should nevertheless be able to pray in aid his drunken state to avoid the consequences we would have expected them to have used the clearest words to express such a surprising result, which we believe would be utterly repugnant to the great majority of people. We are satisfied that Parliament had no such intention."

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