Effect Of Provocation Where Established

In English law, provocation was a mitigatory
defence alleging a total loss of control as a response to another’s provocative conduct sufficient to convert what would otherwise have been murder into manslaughter. But in criminal law, provocation may be a defence by excuse or exculpation alleging a sudden or temporary loss of control as a response to another’s provocative conduct sufficient to justify an acquittal, a mitigated sentence or a conviction for a lesser charge.
Provocation can be a relevant factor in a court’s assessment of a defendant’s mens rea, intention, or state of mind at the time of an act of which the defence is accused. In some common law jurisdictions such as UK and Canada, the defence of provocation is only available against a charge of murder and only acts to reduce the conviction to manslaughter.
There are three basic elements that provocation must consist to constitute a defence in a murder case.
– The act of provocation was done in the heat of passion.
– The loss of self-control was both actual and reasonable, that is to say, when the act was done there was no time for cooling down
– The retaliation was proportionate to the provocation.
It is established law in all criminal cases, that every man is presumed to be sane and to possess a sufficient degree of reason to be responsible for his crimes until the contrary is proved. So where provocation is established it has the effect of whittling down the punishment stipulated for the offence of murder under the provision of section 318 of the criminal code to manslaughter. It is worthy to note also that mere anger is not provocation in law.
Many have asked if words can constitute provocation? The answer is yes, but such words must themselves be provocative in nature as to incite a reasonable men to loss his self control, that his act would cause the death of another and that at the time of killing, the heat of passion had not cooled. Putting these elements together, it is evident that anyone pleading provocation had acted on the spur of the moment, of the act of sudden provocation, which left him no time of cooling off his passion. And the burden of proving provocation rest on the one pleading it as a defence.

Nkechi Bright Ewere