Heat of Passion
Heat of passion is manslaughter, not murder if the killing was due to on sudden provocation, without malice aforethought. Further, that Heat of Passion means that at the time of the act the reason is disturbed or obscured by passion to an extent which might make ordinary men of fair average disposition liable to act irrationally without due deliberation or reflection, and from passion rather than judgment (Mullaney).
The standard by which to judge heat of passion is the ordinary reasonable man test. The conduct of the defendant is to be measured by that of the ordinary reasonable man placed in identical circumstances, the jury is properly to be told that the exciting cause must be such as would naturally tend to arouse the passion of the ordinary reasonable man. (Washington)
To invest the ordinary reasonable man with the same peculiar characteristics of the accused makes nonsense of the ORM test. (Bedder)
No defendant may set up his own standard of conduct and justify or excuse himself because in fact his passions were aroused, unless further the jury believe that the facts and circumstances were sufficient to arouse the passions of the ordinarily reasonable man.
-No specific type of provocation s required… and defendant may be aroused to a heat of passion by a series of events over a considerable period of time. Here 2 weeks of provocatory conduct by his wife could arouse a passion of jealousy, pain, and sexual rage in an ordinary man of average disposition as to cause him to act rashly from his passion. The 20 hours of waiting by defendant did not serve as a cooling period since defendant killed in a state of uncontrollable rage , of passion which was ther esult of the provocatory conduct of his wife. (Berry)