Why Keep the Provocation Defense: Some Reflections on a Difficult Subject

Abstract

Provocation is a full defense in the sense that it ordinarily results in acquittal of the crime of murder.It is a partial defense in the sense that, unlike defenses such as self-protection, the actor is convicted of some offense, albeit a lesser one than murder.See infra note 8.I will use the terms "defense" and "partial defense" interchangeably in this Essay.5. Provocation law is all about emotions, most notably anger.In my early work I thought of anger as, at most, an excusable response to provocation.Upon further reflection and the scholarship of others, see, e.g.,