Crimes Of Passion
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A crime of passion (), in popular usage, refers to a violent crime, especially
homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
, in which the perpetrator commits the act against someone because of sudden strong impulse such as
anger Anger, also known as wrath ( ; ) or rage (emotion), rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experie ...
or
jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of Emotional insecurity, insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, he ...
rather than as a premeditated crime. A high level of social and legal acceptance of crimes of passion has been historically associated with France from the 19th century to the 1970s, and until recently with Latin America.


Description

The "crime of passion" defense challenges the ''
mens rea In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental state of a defendant who is accused of committing a crime. In common law jurisdictions, most crimes require proof both of ''mens rea'' and '' actus reus'' ("guilty act") before th ...
'' element by suggesting that there was no
malice aforethought Malice aforethought is the "premeditation" or "predetermination" (with malice (law), malice) required as an element of some crimes in some jurisdictions and a unique element for first-degree or aggravation (law), aggravated murder in a few. Insof ...
, and instead the crime was committed in the "heat of passion". In some jurisdictions, a successful "crime of passion" defense may result in a conviction for manslaughter or second degree murder instead of first degree murder, because a defendant cannot ordinarily be convicted of first degree murder unless the crime was premeditated. A classic example of a crime of passion involves a spouse who, upon finding their partner in bed with another, kills the romantic interloper. Additionally, the gay panic defense and or "trans panic" defenses can from time to time fall under the label of a "crime of passion", as was the defense of Michael Magidson and José Merel after they were put to trial after murdering trans woman Gwen Araujo. In the United States, claims of "crimes of passion" have been traditionally associated with the defenses of temporary insanity or
provocation Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to: * Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions * Agent provocateur An is a person who actively entices another person to commi ...
. It was used as a defense in murder cases during the 1940s and 1950s. Historically, such defenses were used as complete defenses for various violent crimes, but gradually they became used primarily as a partial defense to a charge of murder; if the court accepts temporary insanity, a murder charge may be reduced to
manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
. In some countries, notably
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, ''crime passionnel'' (or ''crime of passion'') was a valid defense to murder charges. During the 19th century, some such cases resulted in a custodial sentence for the murderer of two years. After the
Napoleonic code The Napoleonic Code (), officially the Civil Code of the French (; simply referred to as ), is the French civil code established during the French Consulate in 1804 and still in force in France, although heavily and frequently amended since i ...
was updated in the 1970s, paternal authority over the members of the family was ended, thus reducing the occasions for which crime passionnel could be claimed. The Canadian Department of Justice has described crimes of passion as "abrupt, impulsive, and unpremeditated acts of violence committed by persons, who have come face to face with an incident unacceptable to them, and who are rendered incapable of self-control for the duration of the act." Crimes of passion were widely accepted in
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...
states, especially in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Texas, unlike most other states, did not only tolerate such crimes, but had a law which codified such killings as justifiable. Until 1973, Texas had a law which stated: "Homicide is justifiable when committed by the husband upon one taken in the act of adultery with the wife, provided that the killing takes place before the parties to the act have separated. Such circumstance cannot justify a homicide where it appears that there has been, on the part of the husband, any connivance or assent to the adulterous connection." This law was repealed in 1973 by Senate Bill 34 during the 63rd Regular Session of the Texas Legislature.


Advocacy

In recent decades, feminists and women's rights organizations have worked to change laws and social norms which tolerate crimes of passion against women.
UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...
has urged states to review legal defenses of passion and provocation, and other similar laws, to ensure that such laws do not lead to impunity in regard to
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...
, stating that "laws should clearly state that these defenses do not include or apply to crimes of "honour",
adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...
, or domestic assault or murder." The
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
Recommendation Rec(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the protection of women against violence states that member states should "preclude adultery as an excuse for violence within the family". There are differences between crimes of passion (which are generally impulsive and committed by and against both genders) and honour killings, as "while crimes of passion may be seen as somewhat premeditated to a certain extent, honour killings are usually deliberate, well planned and premeditated acts when a person kills a female relative ostensibly to uphold his honour." However, Widney Brown, advocacy director for
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, argued that "crimes of passion have a similar dynamic in that the women are killed by male family members and the crimes are perceived as excusable or understandable". Some human rights advocates say that the crimes of passion in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
are treated leniently. Crimes of passion and honor killings often have similar triggers, particularly related to the sexual behavior (real or imaginary) of the victim, such as
extramarital sex Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than their spouse. The term may be applied to the situation of a single person having sex with a married person. It is distinguished from premarital sex ...
,
premarital sex Premarital sex is sex before marriage. It is an act of sex between two people who are not married to each other. Premarital sex is considered a sin by a number of religions and also considered a moral issue which is taboo in many cultures. S ...
or
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
; and there have been accusations that the Western media creates artificial differentiation between the 'foreign' forms of domestic violence, such as the honor killings that are most prevalent in the Middle East and South Asia, and the crimes of passion that are relatively common in North America, Europe and Latin America. The
Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe opposing violence against women and domestic ...
, the first legally binding international document on domestic violence, states at Article 42: In recent years, advocacy and legal reform has focused on several areas of laws: *repealing provisions which explicitly provided for mitigation or acquittal in crimes of passion (most such provisions focused on husbands killing wives due to adultery and fathers killing daughters due to premarital sex, e.g. such a law existed in Italy until 1981 - see below) *reforming self defense laws by ensuring that vague wording does not lead to broad interpretation of the concept, such as the self-defense of
family honor Family honor (or honour) is an abstract concept involving the perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects the social standing and the self-evaluation of a group of related people, both corporately and individually. The family ...
or reputation; according to
UNWOMEN The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...
, "Drafters should scrutinize self-defense provisions for vagueness that leaves open to interpretation whether the harm includes injury to "honour". Wording such as "dangerous or unjust act" are vague and leave open to judicial discretion whether such self-defense provisions apply to "honour" crimes". *reforming
insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...
related defenses, such as insanity, temporary insanity, irresistible impulse,
diminished responsibility In criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by excuse by which defendants argue that although they broke the law, they should not be held fully criminally liable for doing so, as their mental funct ...
and other similar defenses to ensure that such defenses refer to genuine psychiatric medical conditions or genuine inability to comprehend due to objective factors (such as inhaling toxic fumes) and are not used as a
legal fiction A legal fiction is a construct used in the law where a thing is taken to be true, which is not in fact true, in order to achieve an outcome. Legal fictions can be employed by the courts or found in legislation. Legal fictions are different from ...
meant to justify domestic murders. *reforming the
provocation Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to: * Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions * Agent provocateur An is a person who actively entices another person to commi ...
defense, particularly with regard to the triggers that can be claimed. For example, Canada has modified its provocation law in 2015, restricting its use, such that the provocative behavior of the victim must constitute a criminal offense punishable by 5 or more years (rather than just "insult").


Crimes of passion and attitudes towards women

Crimes of passion are often committed against women due to beliefs about female sexuality and are often present in societies dominated by strong
double standards A double standard is the application of different sets of principles for situations that are, in principle, the same. It is often used to describe treatment whereby one group is given more latitude than another. A double standard arises when two ...
related to male and female sexual behaviors, particularly related to premarital sex and adultery. Indeed, with regard to adultery, many societies, such as Latin American countries, have been dominated by very strong double standards regarding male and female adultery, with the latter being seen as a much more serious violation. Such ideas were also supported by laws in the West; for example, in the UK, before 1923, a man could divorce solely on the wife's adultery, but a woman had to prove additional fault (e.g., adultery ''and'' cruelty). Similarly, passion defenses to domestic murders were often available to men who killed unfaithful wives, but not to women who killed unfaithful husbands (France's crime of passion law, that was in force until 1975, is an example). In traditional societies, women could not complain about mistresses,
concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar, but mutually exclusive. During the e ...
, and in many cultures even other wives (such as
polygyny Polygyny () is a form of polygamy entailing the marriage of a man to several women. The term polygyny is from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); . Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any other continent. Some scholar ...
); whereas male sexual
jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of Emotional insecurity, insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, he ...
was recognized as the highest emotion that could justify even murder. Similarly, crimes of passion legislation made reference to fathers killing their daughters, but not sons, for premarital sex (such as Italy's law that was in effect until 1981); or
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
's law that continues to be in effect to this day (see Art. 247 called ''Death or physical injuries inflicted under exceptional circumstances''.). With regard to Philippines, this double standard is also seen in the crimes dealing with extramarital sex, which are defined differently for women and men, and punished more severely for women (see Articles 333 and 334). Historically, some societies considered homicide committed by a wife against her husband as a more severe crime than homicide committed by a husband against his wife. This was the case in the UK, where, under
English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...
, until 1828, homicide committed against a social superior, which included a wife killing her husband, was classified as
petty treason Petty treason or petit treason was an offence under the common law of England in which a person killed or otherwise violated the authority of a social superior, other than the king. In England and Wales, petty treason ceased to be a distinct offe ...
(which for women incurred burning at stake) and was a crime more severe than murder, because it was seen as threatening the hierarchical social order. In England and Wales, petty treason ceased to be a distinct offence from murder by virtue of the
Offences against the Person Act 1828 The Offences Against the Person Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 31), also known as Lord Lansdowne's Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated for England and Wales provisions in the law related to offences against the ...
. It was abolished in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in 1829. In the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
the Roman law ''
Lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis A ''lex Julia'' (plural: ''leges Juliae'') was an ancient Roman law that was introduced by any member of the gens Julia. Most often, "Julian laws", ''lex Julia'' or ''leges Juliae'' refer to moral legislation introduced by Augustus in 23 BC, ...
'' implemented by
Augustus Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
in 18 BC permitted the killing of daughters and their lovers who committed adultery at the hands of their fathers and also permitted the killing of the adulterous wife's lover at the hand of her husband.


Crimes of passion and juries

The role of
juries A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make findings of fact, and render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Most trial juries are " petit juries", an ...
in trials of crimes of passion is controversial. In Brazil especially, there have been concerns that the jury system is deeply flawed, both due to the bias of juries, and due to the legal framework, which gives immense power to juries, and there is little that can be done even in jury decisions that are in blatant violation of the law. In Brazil, there is no "right" of a man to kill his wife, in fact the legal right of a husband to kill his wife due to adultery was abolished very early, in 1830. Nevertheless, acquittals in cases of men killing their wives have been very common throughout the 19th and 20th century, and have happened even in the 21st century. Men have been acquitted for killing wives due to a variety of reasons, including infidelity, attempting to leave the relationship, and refusing to have sex. In 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that the so-called legitimate defense of honor, used in these trials, has no basis in Brazilian law. Nevertheless, the legitimate defense of honor has continued to be used, including in a 2017 case of attempted murder where a man was acquitted for stabbing his ex-wife. The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal on the basis that the decision of a jury is sovereign and may not be altered. In 2021, the Supreme Court was asked to analyze the legitimate defense of honor, and ruled that the defense is not part of Brazilian law, reiterating the 1991 decision, and also ruled that this defense is unconstitutional; the ruling provided for the possibly of the prosecution to contest the decision of the jury on the basis that it is void if such defense has been used, with the final ruling being affirmed in 2023. The Supreme Court unanimously considered that the legitimate defense of honor is contrary to the principles of gender equality, human dignity and protection of life provided for in the
Constitution of Brazil The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil () is the Constitution, supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the federal government of Brazil. It replaced the ...
, for which reason it prohibited its direct or indirect use during trials. It is still not clear how and whether the prohibition of this defense can be implemented. Legal experts and politicians have expresses serious concerns of the way juries operate in Brazil, calling the legal organization anachronistic. According to a criminal court judge: ::"The popular jury trials for murder leave the prosecutor with no recourse. He can appeal a jury verdict or a sentence and be supported by the higher court, as in Lopes, but each case returns to the state jury tribunal...In this jury system the jury decides according to its conscience not according to the law." A study prepared for the National Council on the Rights of Women found that: ::" he jury"doesn't evaluate the crime in itself, but instead evaluates the victim and the accused's life, trying to show how adapted each one is to what they imagine should be the correct behavior for a husband and wife....The man can always be acquitted if the defense manages to convince the jury that he was a good and honest worker, a dedicated father and husband, while the woman was unfaithful and did not fulfill her responsibilities as a housewife and mother....This way the ones involved in the crime are judged distinctly. Men and women are attributed different roles, in a pattern that excludes citizenship and equality of rights." Brazil is not the only country where there are or have been controversies about juries in crimes of passion cases; the ability of juries to return fair verdicts in crimes of passion in the
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
was a major issue. In India, it was a crime of passion that led to the abolition of jury trials, after a man was acquitted by a jury for killing his wife's lover.


By country


Australia

In
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, as in other
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
jurisdictions, crimes of passion have traditionally been subjected to the partial defense of
provocation Provocation, provoke or provoked may refer to: * Provocation (legal), a type of legal defense in court which claims the "victim" provoked the accused's actions * Agent provocateur An is a person who actively entices another person to commi ...
, which converts what would have been
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
into
manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
. In the early 21st Century, the defence of provocation came under increased criticism, and, as a result, legal changes have abolished or restricted its application: in 2003,
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
became the first state to abolish the partial defence of provocation in murder charges; the next state to abolish it was Victoria, in 2005; followed by
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
in 2008; and by
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
in 2020. ACT and
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
have amended the laws to exclude non-violent homosexual sexual advances, in 2004 and 2006, respectively. In
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
the partial defense of provocation in section 304(1) of the Criminal Code was amended in 2011, in order to "reduce the scope of the defence being available to those who kill out of sexual possessiveness or jealousy". In 2014, the
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
law on provocation was amended to provide that the provocative conduct of the deceased must also have constituted a serious indictable offense.


Brazil

Killing of wives due to adultery has been traditionally treated very leniently in
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, in court cases where husbands claimed the "legitimate defense of their honor" (''legitima defesa da honra'') as justification for the killing. Although this defense was not explicitly stipulated in the 20th-century Criminal Code, it has been successfully pleaded by lawyers throughout the 20th century, in particular in the countryside, though less so in the coastal big cities. In 1991 Brazil's Supreme Court explicitly rejected the "honor defense" as having no basis in Brazilian law. In the 21st century, Brazil has improved the legal status of women, with the new Civil Code of 2002; and through other legal changes such as repealing in 2005 the provision that exempted a rapist from punishment if he married his victim, and enacting laws against domestic violence in Brazil.


France

Crimes of passion have a strong association with France. Prior to 1975, the French Penal Code of 1810 stated at article 324 that "in the case of adultery, provided for by article 336, murder committed upon the wife as well as upon her accomplice, at the moment when the husband shall have caught them in the fact, in the house where the husband and wife dwell, is excusable" eaning a punishment of 1 to 5 years, according to article 326 In practice, however, many domestic violence crimes resulted in acquittal by the juries, which alarmed jurists and led them to question whether the citizen jurors of the Third Republic were competent to render justice. In the 1960s and 70s the attitudes towards domestic violence started to change, as in other European countries. On November 7, 1975, Law no. 617/75 Article 17 repealed Article 324. Many countries, including some western countries like
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, were legally influenced by the Article 324. Prior to 1997, Belgian law provided for mitigating circumstances in the case of a killing or assault against a spouse caught in the act of adultery. In
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, Article 413 (repealed in 2003) provided mitigating circumstances for murder, assault and injury of an adulterous spouse. Article 324 of the French penal code was copied by
Middle Eastern The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
countries. According to the Honour Based Violence Awareness Network, the penal codes that were enacted under the Napoleonic Empire influenced the development of laws in North Africa and the Middle East. These laws permit reduced sentences for murders that are "related to honour". The French Article 324 inspired
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
's Article 340 and Article 98. The 1858 Ottoman Penal Code's Article 188 was also inspired by Article 324. Both the French Article 324 and Ottoman article 188 were drawn on to create Jordan's Article 340, which was retained after a 1944 revision of laws, and still applies to this day. The Napoleonic Code has been an extremely influential code. Many laws around the world have been modeled on it. The code was applied to all territories under Napoleon's control and has also influenced several other countries in Europe and South America. In addition to leniency to crimes of passion, this code enshrined the unquestionable authority of men over their families and deprived women of any individual rights, and reduced the rights of
illegitimate children Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
. It also reintroduced colonial slavery. The example of the Napoleonic Code is often used in debates about
Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation, see spelling differences), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt what is considered to be Western culture, in areas such as industr ...
,
Europeanization Europeanisation (or Europeanization, see spelling differences) refers to a number of related phenomena and patterns of change: *The process in which a notionally non-European subject (be it a culture, a language, a city or a nation) adopts a numbe ...
and
imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
. The Napoleonic Code was also influential in the " marry-your-rapist laws" (in force in France until 1994), which were exported to other parts of the world too. France also had a strong culture of
dueling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in t ...
meant to uphold honor, and France was called by
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
"the dueling capital of Europe". This dueling culture was also exported to Latin America, and was extremely strong in
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
(see below the section on Uruguay). In
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
, a place influenced throughout the centuries both by Italian and French culture, there was a strong custom of vendetta, which required Corsicans to kill anyone who wronged their family honor. Between 1821 and 1852, no fewer than 4,300 vendetta killings were perpetrated in Corsica. Stories about adulterous women, suicides and homicides committed due to 'passion', featured prominently in French literature in the 19th century, and "In literature as in life, unconventional women needed to be severely punished lest their defiant attitudes inspire further acts of rebellion".


Haiti

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
, a former French colony, had a crime of passion law similar to that of France until 2005, when it was abolished. Adultery was also decriminalized in 2005.


Italy

Italy has a long tradition of treating crimes of passion with leniency. Until 1981, the law read: "Art. 587: He who causes the death of a spouse, daughter, or sister upon discovering her in illegitimate carnal relations and in the heat of passion caused by the offence to his honour or that of his family will be sentenced to three to seven years. The same sentence shall apply to whom, in the above circumstances, causes the death of the person involved in illegitimate carnal relations with his spouse, daughter, or sister."


Portugal

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
has a long tradition of tolerating, and even encouraging, crimes of passion, under the " legitimate defense of honor", which was also brought to
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. During the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, (1933–1974) women's rights were restricted. Although improvements in tackling domestic violence have been achieved, particularly with legal reforms in 1982, lenient punishments continue to be given by judges, partly due to the strongly patriarchal ideology that still persists in the judicial system. Although the Supreme Court of Justice in recent years has, in most cases, rejected the defense of "passion" in domestic homicides, such defense remains open to use due to the legal framework of murder in Portuguese law, namely article 133. This article is very broad in scope, is subject to interpretation, and has a very low punishment of only 1 to 5 years, which due to the regulations of the Portuguese Penal Code, usually results in suspended sentences. This article, called "Privileged homicide" (''Homicídio privilegiado'') states that when the murder takes place under an understandable violent emotion, compassion, despair or other socially or morally relevant motive, such as to significantly diminish the murderer's degree of guilt, the punishment in this case is 1 to 5 years. Furthermore, the Criminal Code under Articles 71 and 72, provides guidelines to sentencing for crimes, making reference to honorabale motives and provocation by the victim. The international GREVIO expert body which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the
Istanbul Convention The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention, is a International human rights instruments, human rights treaty of the Council of Europe oppos ...
by the State Parties (which include Portugal) has called on the Portuguese authorities to reform the Criminal Code, to ensure that it is compatible with article 42 of the convention, which states that "Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that, in criminal proceedings initiated following the commission of any of the acts of violence covered by the scope of this Convention, culture, custom, religion, tradition or so‐called “honour” shall not be regarded as justification for such acts. This covers, in particular, claims that the victim has transgressed cultural, religious, social or traditional norms or customs of appropriate behaviour." Portugal was one of the last European countries to decriminalize adultery - the adultery law (which treated female and male adultery differently) was repealed in 1982, and the punishment for female adultery in the 20th century in Portugal was one of the most severe in the Western world. With regard to homicide law, before 1975, the law provided for a symbolic punishment of only 6 months exile from the district for killing of a spouse or daughter under 21 caught in the act of adultery/premarital sex.Amor Fati: On ‘Crimes of Passion’ in Portuguese Law
/ref> The ''Decree-Law 262/75 on 27 May 1975'' repealed article 372 of the Penal Code which provided for such mitigation; nevertheless courts continued to routinely use general mitigation factors to give lenient punishments for husbands who killed out of jealousy or relationship breakup throughout the 1980s and 1990s; the concept of holding women as partly responsible for crimes committed against them extended to other crimes too, such as rape and kidnapping; for example in 1989 the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice ruled that two hitchhiking young tourists who were kidnapped and raped had contributed to the crimes committed against them. It was only in the 21st century that a different attitude started to be more commonly adopted by the courts, as public and political discourse against of domestic violence started to grow.


United Kingdom

Killing due to adultery traditionally fell under the provocation defense. In 1707, English Lord Chief Justice John Holt described the act of a man having sexual relations with another man's wife as "the highest invasion of property" and claimed, in regard to the aggrieved husband, that "a man cannot receive a higher provocation". In 2009 a man was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter by reason of provocation for stabbing his partner and his best friend to death when he found them having sex. Although
provocation in English law In English law, provocation was a mitigatory defence to murder which had taken many guises over generations many of which had been strongly disapproved and modified. In closing decades, in widely upheld form, it amounted to proving a reasonable t ...
was abolished on 4 October 2010 by section 56(1) of the
Coroners and Justice Act 2009 The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the law on coroners and criminal justice in England and Wales. Among its provisions are: *Preventing criminals from profiting from public ...
, it was replaced by a relatively similar by more narrowly drafted defence of " loss of control" created by section 54. There has been considerable controversy regarding the application by the courts of the new law; although section 55 states "(6) In determining whether a loss of self-control had a qualifying trigger (...) (c) the fact that a thing done or said constituted sexual infidelity is to be disregarded", in a controversial decision by Lord Judge in '' R v Clinton'' in the Court of Appeal, Lord Judge interpreted the new offence as allowing for sexual infidelity to count under the third prong of the new defence (see Baker and Zhao 2012). This decision has received heavy criticism from academics. Vera Baird has also been very critical of the decision, writing, "It seems that parliament says infidelity doesn't count and the court says it does."


Uruguay

In
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
, crimes of passion were legally tolerated until 2017. In certain circumstances, the law exonerated a perpetrator when a killing or a battery was committed due to "passion provoked by adultery". Article 36 of the Criminal Code provided for this: "''Artículo 36. (La pasión provocada por el adulterio)'' ''La pasión provocada por el adulterio faculta al Juez para exonerar de pena por los delitos de homicidio y de lesiones, siempre que concurran los requisitos siguientes:'' :''1. Que el delito se cometa por el cónyuge que sorprendiera infraganti al otro cónyuge y que se efectúe o contra el amante.'' :''2. Que el autor tuviera buenos antecedentes y que la oportunidad para cometer el delito no hubiera sido provocada o simplemente facilitada, mediando conocimiento anterior de la infidelidad conyugal.''" Translation: "Article 36. (The passion provoked by adultery) The passion provoked by adultery empowers the court to exempt from punishment for the crimes of homicide and injury, provided that the following conditions are present: # The offense is committed by one spouse against the other spouse whom he or she has caught in the act, or against the lover. # The perpetrator has a good record and the opportunity to commit the crime was not provoked or facilitated by prior knowledge of the marital infidelity." Since 2013, there have been ongoing political efforts to remove this provision from the Criminal Code. On December 22, 2017, Article 36 of the Criminal Code was modified to remove the crime of passion. Uruguay is a country where the case of violence against women has been considered a
paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...
and debated in the context that Uruguay is otherwise considered one of the most liberal countries in Latin America; nevertheless, domestic violence is a very serious problem; according to a 2018 United Nations study, Uruguay has the second-highest rate of killings of women by current or former partners in Latin America, after Dominican Republic. Despite having a reputation of being a progressive country, Uruguay has lagged behind with regard to its approach to domestic violence; for example, in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, considered one of the most socially conservative countries of the region, a similar legislation permitting such crimes of passion was repealed in 1953. The culture of Uruguay has been strongly influenced by
French culture The culture of France has been shaped by Geography of France, geography, by History of France, historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high ...
, through French immigrants in the 19th century (see
French Uruguayans French Uruguayans (; ) are Uruguayan citizens of full or partial French ancestry. French Uruguayans form the third largest ancestry group after Spanish Uruguayans and Italian Uruguayans. Until 1853, France constituted the main source of imm ...
), and, as such, the French concept of crime of passion was brought to Uruguay (see section above on France). The French
dueling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in t ...
culture, meant to uphold
honor Honour ( Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as val ...
, was also exported to Latin America, and was extremely strong in Uruguay. Uruguay's honor culture has been prominent well into the 20th century, and duels survived in Uruguay until the 1970s, long after the practice had been abandoned in other parts of the Western world. Duels in Uruguay were widespread in the early 20th century, were legalized in 1920, in an unusual political move; and remained legal until 1992.


Examples


France

*
Henriette Caillaux Henriette Caillaux (born 5 December 1874 – 29 January 1943) was a Parisian socialite and second wife of the former Prime Minister of France, Joseph Caillaux. On 16 March 1914, she shot and killed Gaston Calmette, editor of the newspaper ''Le F ...
*
Albert Lemaître Albert Lemaître (5 February 1864 – 27 July 1912), (aka Georges LemaîtreSome modern anglophone secondary sources (and myriad derivative internet sites) use the name Georges Lemaître, but the leading contemporary French sources of the 1890s– ...


United Kingdom

* Douglas Malcolm


United States

* Lorena Bobbitt * Mary Jo Buttafuoco * Death of Steve McNair *
Lisa Nowak Lisa Marie Nowak (née Caputo; born May 10, 1963) is an American aeronautical engineer, former NASA astronaut, and retired United States Navy officer. Nowak served as naval flight officer and test pilot in the Navy, and was selected by NASA fo ...
* Murder of Nikki Whitehead * Murder of David Lynn Harris


See also

*
Domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
*
Honor killing An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...
*
Murder–suicide A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...
*
Voluntary manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human in which the offender acted in the heat of passion, a state that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed to the point that they cannot reasonably control thei ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crime Of Passion Killings by type Murder *Crime Sexual fidelity Intimate relationships