Uxoricide Under the Auspices of the Model Penal Code: A Legislative Proposal to Amend Section 210.3 (b) of the Model Penal Code

Abstract

The article argues that a diagnostic view of the phenomenon of the murder of women reveals that unique yet common motives for murder are sexual jealousy and/or the female partner's desire to end the intimate relationship. This article deals with the socio-legal problems stemming from the application of the doctrine of provocation, as it is statutorily entrenched in US states that have adopted the text of the Model Penal Code of the United States, and that consequently affords a criminal defence based on extreme mental and emotional disturbance (a defence also known as "EMED"). The article presents a concrete proposal for the legislative amendment of the Model Penal Code in this regard, focusing on Section 210.3 of the Model Penal Code and offering a discrete socio-legal statutory structure for the proper application of the doctrine of provocation to the unique criminological characteristics of intimate partner homicides.

Keywords: Femicide, Uxoricide, Common Law Criminal Doctrine of Provocation