Excuse for the husband killing his wife’s lover in the form of the partial defence of provocation was set following the Mawgridge’s case in 1707. This meant the husband could be found guilty of manslaughter rather than murder. In 1810, another precedent was set, where the adulterous wife's killing could follow a sentence of manslaughter rather than murder. This entry investigates the shaping of adultery as a defence to murder under the partial defence of provocation.
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