SNP vows to abolish 'crime of passion' murder defence

Justice Secretary Angela Constance vowed her party would act on the issue if it wins the May 7 Holyrood election.

It comes in the wake of pleas from the Scottish Law Commission for reforms to prevent those accused of murder from using such a defence when they kill their partner.

A paper from the Commission last year called for the abolition of the sexual infidelity defence.

Under the law as it stands, a person can claim they lost control upon discovering a partner’s sexual infidelity, with this potentially allowing a murder charge to be reduced to the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

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Ms Constance said: “The ‘crime of passion’ defence is outdated and it’s absolutely right we strengthen our homicide laws to get rid of it.

“We will reform and modernise current laws so people can’t use an in effect defence of infidelity provocation to allow juries to find them guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

“Victims must be at the heart of our justice system and by ending the 'crime of passion' defence we will ensure exactly that.

“If re-elected, this SNP manifesto commitment will ensure Scotland’s justice system is modernised and strengthened as John Swinney’s experienced leadership remains firmly fixed on the priorities of the people of Scotland.”

Thomas Ross KC, one of Scotland’s top criminal lawyers, has said the sexual infidelity provocation dates back to a time when people convicted of murder were hanged.

He told the Daily Record last year: "In the past we had to find ways of not hanging people and sexual provocation was one. It does seems completely outdated and has been already abolished in England.

"We haven't been hanging people now for more than 60 years. If we are reviewing the law, then this seems a good time to do it.”

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Scottish Women’s Aid previously said the defence was “an outdated, gendered concept rooted in patriarchal views of women as property”.

A spokesperson added: "It fails to adequately address the reality of domestic abuse and coercive control experienced by victims.

"The defence is frequently applied in cases where a man kills a woman due to a perceived loss of control over her, framing it as a male reaction to the loss of his ‘property’ rather than a balanced response to the act of infidelity .

"Infidelity by anyone, in any context, can never justify violence, it is misogynistic and incompatible with modern day values."

Rape Crisis Scotland has referred to the defence as an “archaic piece of law, used disproportionately by violent men”, which “harks back to a time when women were viewed as property”.

Speaking last year, its chief executive Sandy Brindley said: “It suggests that anger and violence can be justified if a woman behaves in a certain way and is a prime example of how our criminal justice system lets down women, particular those who have endured sexual and domestic violence.

“I think most people in Scotland would be surprised to learn that something like this still exists within our legal system."