Networked Knowledge - Media Reports

[This edited version of the report has been prepared by Dr Robert N Moles]

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On 29 July 2008 BBC reported "Changes in murder laws proposed"

It said proposed reforms of the law on homicide in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could change the way a murder charge is reduced to manslaughter. They would see the partial defence of provocation scrapped and replaced with two new ones.

These would be if a defendant killed over fears about serious violence, or if they could show they were "seriously wronged" by the victim's actions. Attorney General Baroness Scotland said this would bring the law "up to date".

Under the plans, the partial defence of "fear of serious violence" could be used by long-term domestic abuse victims, arguing they were forced to kill their abuser. A further proposed change would see the partial defence of diminished responsibility abolished and replaced with a new defence based on "recognised medical conditions".

But the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) stressed that only in "exceptional circumstances" could a defendant successfully claim they killed in response to words or conduct that left them feeling "seriously wronged".

It also emphasised that someone could not claim to be "seriously wronged" if they found out their partner was having an affair. However, an MoJ spokeswoman said adultery can count under the current provocation defence. She said the existing law "is designed to cater for anger killing, but it is not significantly well tailored for killings that are a response to fear."

Justice Minister Maria Eagle said: "For men and women who kill their partners these changes will mean that the letter of the law finally catches up with judges and juries, who in recent years have been less prone than people think to let men off lightly and punish women harshly. "However, in order to be fair they've had to stretch the law to its limits."

The minister said the proposed partial defence of long-term abuse marked a "substantial change", although she stressed that the government "would not want to introduce anything that would allow cold, calculating killers to get away with it". Erin Pizzey, a veteran campaigner for women's rights, said of the plans: "I'm appalled by it, because I think thou shalt not kill has been with us since the time of Moses.

"It's so important that we don't in any way upset the concept that to kill another human being is the most terrible thing you can do." Barrister Geoffrey Robertson, QC, told the BBC that the proposals did include "sensible" changes but that they did not address all of his concerns. He said: "Any mandatory sentence is unjust because it doesn't distinguish between the terrorist and the gangland executioner and the mercy killer at the other end of the scale, who maybe doesn't deserve to go to prison at all, but has to be sentenced to life imprisonment, and the domestic killings."

The plans face public consultation before new legislation is introduced. They follow a 2006 report from the Law Commission which made wide-ranging recommendations for changes to legislation. The Scottish government said it has no plans to make changes to this area of criminal law but the Scottish Law commission is looking at the defences of provocation, self-defence and coercion.

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