Provocation in Sentencing Research Paper Released
Today the Sentencing Advisory Council released a research report on Provocation in Sentencing.
The paper was written out of a concern that, if the underlying purposes of abolishing the partial defence of provocation are to be achieved, it is imperative that the problems and flaws of the pre-existing law not be transferred into the law of sentencing. The paper suggests an approach to considering provocation in sentencing which seeks to avoid those injustices.
The Crimes (Homicide) Act 2005 abolished the partial defence of provocation in Victoria for homicides committed after 22 November 2005. This change in law came about in response to recommendations made by the Victorian Law Reform Commission.
Defendants charged with a murder committed after that date lose the right to raise the partial defence of provocation, which previously could have reduced a conviction of murder to manslaughter. In future cases, judges will have to consider the relevance of any provocative conduct on the part of the deceased when determining an appropriate sentence for the crime of murder.