Don’t Look Back in Anger: The Partial Defence of Provocation in Scots Criminal Law

Coercion, Control and Criminal Responsibility: Exploring Professional Responses to Offending and Suicidality in the Context of Domestically Abusive Relationships

“…Historically more amenable to the 'red mist' killings of angry men than the 'slow burn' cumulative impact of domestic abuse (Howe, 2012), Edwards (2021) has argued that the revised requirement for fear of serious violence in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 in England and Wales continues to undermine much understanding of how an abused, coerced or controlled woman might react (see also Williams, 2020). Meanwhile, in Scotland, critics have underscored the profound injustice of retaining a ground for provocation based on sexual infidelity (Drury v HMA 2001 SCCR 583), whilst failing to acknowledge the plight of victims of domestic abuse (McDiarmid, 2010(McDiarmid, , 2019. Further, though Challen has opened space for reliance on diminished responsibility, it has also continued to rely on pathologising explanations of what might be argued to be normal reactions to sustained and systemic abuse (Bettinson, 2019;Burton, 2022;Wake, 2013).…”

Reflecting on Legal Responses to Intimate Partner Femicide in Scotland

“…2 The relationship must also be one in which there would be an expectation of fidelity (McKay v. HM Advocate, 1991). Concerns about provocation on the basis of infidelity are longstanding (McDiarmid, 2010;Wells, 2000) and reflect "an archaic approach arising from outdated concepts of male honour and sexual possession" (Scottish Law Commission, 2021, p. 147). Continued use of the plea in Scotland is also out of step with Scots law's approach to domestic abuse.…”

“…This discomfort was evidenced recently by its inclusion in the recent Scottish Feminist Judgments Project (Cowan et al, 2019). Claire McDiarmid (2010), who has previously written about the problems associated with provocation, submitted a feminist judgment and reflection on the case while Jay Whittaker used the case to create a powerful poem for the artistic strand of the project (Cowan et al, 2019).…”