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Date Posted: 21:22:31 04/08/02 Mon
Author: Valhalla
Subject: Re: Killing 'in the heat of passion' is manslaughter
In reply to: Dochawk 's message, "Re: Was Ben, then, a lesser being than Warren?" on 11:36:51 04/08/02 Mon

I doubt Willow would get the chair (even with a not-so-great-lawyer). In most states, killing "in the heat of passion" is manslaughter, not murder. A killing is manslaughter if there's adequate provocation -- the test for adequate provocation (in most states) goes something like this: Was the provocation an act which would cause a sudden and intense passion in an ordinary person? Was the defendant actually provoked? Was there insufficient time between the provocation and the killing for the defendant to 'cool down'? Did the defendant actually not 'cool down'?

If a jury decides that the answer to all 4 questions is yes, then it must find that the killing was manslaughter, not murder. I don't think there's any state where you get the death penalty for manslaughter. I think some states have otherwise fairly heavy penalties - life without parole may be in the picture.

Someone killing your lover is at least as provoking of sudden passion as catching your spouse in bed with someones else (the classic manslaughter example). And it sounds like Willow was very provoked and did not cool down.
From the spoilers we've seen, it seems like the big question is whether Willow would have had time to cool down. How long does it take an ordinary person to cool down after finding out someone killed your lover?

Giles is in more of a bind, legally. He could claim self-defense -- he'd have to show he reasonably believed he was faced with imminent death if he did not respond with deadly force. The twist is that Ben wasn't threatening Giles, Glory-in-Ben was. But he has other defenses or legal excuses available. He could claim necessity -- killing Ben is justifiable if he reasonably believed that it was necessary to prevent harm to society as a result of pressure of natural forces. The harm part's easy - hell on earth. Does Glory count as a natural force? That's the question. He might even be able to get off because of 'crime prevention' -- you can use deadly force to prevent a 'dangerous felony'.

Of course, just because the law would probably allow Giles and Willow to avoid the death penalty if not any punishment at all doesn't mean fans of the show have to.

The Ben/Giles scene is less troubling to me, because the justice system is blind to supernatural armegeddons and in the Buffyverse, Giles and the Scoobies have nowhere to turn for justice. For Giles it was kill Ben or let the world end, pretty much. There were no supernatural cops to call on -- he (and the rest of the gang) really believed Buffy could not defeat Glory. Willow's situation is more troubling, because the whole tradition of reducing punishment for crimes of passion is somewhat morally suspect.

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