Before His Passion Had Time to Cool: 'The Unwritten Law of Adulterous Provocation' and Urban Legend
Canadian Journal of Law and Society, Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 1995, pp. 99-108
11 Pages Posted: 25 Nov 2012
Date Written: 1995
Abstract
This paper investigates the history and intersection of folk belief with actual law concerning the "right" of an aggrieved husband to kill his adulterous wife, and sometimes her lover, upon discovering them in flagrante delicto. It briefly considers the historical relationship of such beliefs (and defences) to those relating to "battered wife" syndrome, and (in terms of folk law or urban legend) to the mouse-in-the-bottle or "Cokelore" cases.
Keywords: Law, defence of provocation, adultery, folk law, urban legend, legal history
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Miller, Jeffrey, Before His Passion Had Time to Cool: 'The Unwritten Law of Adulterous Provocation' and Urban Legend (1995). Canadian Journal of Law and Society, Vol. 10, No. 2, Fall 1995, pp. 99-108, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2180210
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