Law on Provocation

Infidelity is quite dangerous in the sense that it can lead some people to temporarily lose control of themselves and commit crimes of passion. Crimes of passion usually happen when the cheating spouse is caught in the sexual act with the lover, catching the legal spouse in complete surprise who is momentarily robbed of all reason and kills the offending spouse and lover. There is also the premeditated type which has been planned carefully after the discovery of spousal infidelity.

In the UK, there are plans to change existing murder laws that tries husbands or boyfriends who commit crimes of passion for the lesser crime of manslaughter. By the Law of Provocation, a man is partially justified in killing a partner who has provoked him by cheating on him. The existing laws has been drawing flak from the feminist side especially since a woman who kills a man who has continuously abused her physically is not entitled to the same "privilege" and is tried for the bigger crime of murder. In effect, the message being sent is that it is reasonable for a man to take out his anger on a woman by killing her but a woman who does the same is unacceptable, having no access whatsoever to the Law on Provocation.

Although there appears to be a consensus that the law tends to favor men in the treatment of domestic violence, there are also those that caution against the complete reversal of the law because of the corresponding consequences. The new law seeks to try men who kill women out of jealous anger for murder. It also seeks to help women who kill their abusive husbands. It will also replace the current defense of provocation with a law based on words or conduct. This means that people can claim that they killed someone because of the fear of further violence against them. Clearly, there is a need to tread carefully on the defenses made available to people who end up killing their partners.

It is a fact that many men have taken advantage of the law of provocation and did not seek to restrain themselves more strongly than they should from taking the matters into their own hands. It is also a fact that many battered women have been battered further by the law when they sought to end their misery in the hands of their husbands. This should call attention on how human laws can unfairly work for one and not for the other.