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UK: Conviction quashed

01 September 1992

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Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who killed her husband after ten years of brutality and humiliation, won a limited victory when the Court of Appeal quashed her conviction for murder and ordered a re- trial, but was refused bail. Campaigners on behalf of Mrs Ahluwalia, Sara Thornton and other women driven to kill their violent husbands, were delighted with the quashing of the murder conviction, but disappointed that the Court refused to interfere with an old common-law definition of provocation as behaviour causing a "sudden and temporary loss of self-control". They argue that the definition is gender-biased, favouring men carrying weapons or able to use their superior strength in a fight. In addition, they say that men are more liable to react instantly to provocation, while for women, there is a "slow-burn" reaction.

Independent 4.8.92.

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