Diminished Intelligence and the Partial Defence of Provocation
Under s. 232 of the Criminal Code, homicide that would otherwise be murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the person who committed it did so in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation. There are two essential components to the requirements of s. 232– one objective, the other subjective. Ordinary person inquiry First, there must be a wrongful act or insult of such a nature that it is sufficient to deprive an ordinary person of the power of self-control as the objective element. Accused Person inquiry Second, the subjective element requires that the accused act upon that insult on the sudden and before there was time for his passion to cool. R. v. Tran , 2010 SCC 58, [2010] 3 S.C.R. 350, at para. 23; R. v. Thibert , [1996] 1 S.C.R. 37. Contextualizing the Ordinary Person Standard Versus Individualizing It Personal circumstances may be relevant to determining whether the accused was in fact provoked – the subjective element of the defenc...