Getting tough with defences

Comments on the reformed defences to homicide in the Law Commission Consultation Paper entitled A New Homicide Act for England and Wales?. Examines the revised three tier structure for homicide, the significance of the distinction between the offences, the uncertainties over the criteria for distinguishing levels of culpability and the ambivalence surrounding the paper's concept of intention. Discusses key features of the proposed defences of diminished responsibility, provocation and duress and considers the extent to which they reflect the gendered nature of many homicides, especially those relating to domestic violence.