15/09/2008
Proposed Murder Reforms
Last month the Ministry of Justice issued proposals to reform the law relating to murder for the first time since 1957. The proposed changes include partial defences reducing murder to manslaughter in exceptional cases.
The proposed changes come in response to longstanding concerns that the law of provocation impacts differently on men and women and is too generous to those who kill out of anger and too hard on those who kill out of fear of serious violence. In its place would be a partial defence of ‘fear of serious violence’, and so women who do kill their partners after suffering years of domestic abuse would no longer have to show they acted spontaneously, provided they could show they were in fear of serious violence.
A further partial defence would also be available where a killing is in response to words and conduct which caused the defendant to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged e.g. where a rape victim kills her attacker after being taunted about the attack
The consultation paper makes clear that a manslaughter conviction should be justified for killings carried out in anger only in exceptional circumstances -which do not include sexual infidelity on the part of the victim.
Whilst many welcome the proposals, some fear they do not go far enough, and will not do so until the mandatory life sentence for convictions of murder has been removed.
The current proposals are open to public consultation until October 2008. |
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