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A crime of passion, or crime passionnel, as it is known in the legal fraternity refers to an offence in which the perpetrator commits a crime — especially assault, murder or rape — against someone because of a strong impulse such as sudden rage or heartbreak rather than as a premeditated crime.
A typical crime of passion might involve for example an aggressive beer-drinker who assaults another patron following an argument or a husband who discovers his wife is cheating and proceeds to brutally batter or even kill his wife and the man with whom she was involved.
We hear about crimes of passion all the time. A man walks in on his wife and her lover, and then kills them both or either of them for their transgressions. A woman can also do that to an adulterous husband.
A crime of passion is usually precipitated by jealousy. It is an act that was not planned or premeditated, but occurred for no other reason than pure emotional violence.
There is a recent report of a man staying in Bulawayo’s Nkulumane suburb who died after he was severely assaulted by an injiva and his accomplices who had found him in the injiva’s matrimonial bed with his wife.
The incident occurred barely a week after a Gokwe North teacher had committed suicide by hanging after he allegedly caught his wife pants down with a public service official at a Gokwe North lodge.
In another incident, a Chipinge chief’s live-in girlfriend allegedly went berserk and butchered the traditional leader in cold blood with a machete in a Blair toilet on suspicions of infidelity.
Again, in a chilling incident, a 29-year-old man from Bulawayo’s Old Pumula suburb stabbed his friend thrice with a kitchen knife following a quarrel over headphones.
Many may still remember the gruesome murder that left residents in Mpopoma shocked after a man split the skull of his estranged wife and chopped off her hands with a machete before trying to commit suicide by slitting his wrists over an undisclosed dispute.
In addition, a police constable stationed at Mashava Police Station allegedly killed his 18-year-old wife he suspected of having an affair with a neighbour.
In another incident, a 45-year-old Bulawayo woman battled for life at Mpilo Central Hospital after her husband of more than 20 years scalded her with paraffin for refusing to go to their rural home.
History is overwhelmed by all types of crime, but crimes of passion, in particular, have caused a great deal of heartache and have left so many people asking “why?”
Mr Amon Phiri (31) of Bulawayo said people who commit crimes out of anger or during the spur of the moment should be forgiven.
He said these people are usually in shock and stressed at the time they commit these “crimes of passion”.
“We should understand that some problems that people face cause a lot of hurt to the extent that someone overreacts and ends up committing a crime that would shock everybody.
“If you look at it closely, these people would not ordinarily commit a crime but because they are provoked, they succumb to the pressure.
“These are some of the things that the law should consider when convicting someone of a crime they committed when in a state of shock,” he said.
Mr Phiri said because their emotions overtake them, people end up committing crimes such as murder or assault in retaliation.
He said people lose their temper, which is justified, and end up hurting the people they love much to the shock of onlookers.
“It is madness and uncalled for. One first has to be a psychopath for them to commit a crime of passion,” said Mrs Letwin Sigauke (43).
She said under no circumstances should any crime be condoned.
“It is not fair on the person who is hurt. Although people may say the action was justified because the person was probably feeling betrayed, it does not work like that.
“People should learn to control themselves and deal with issues amicably. One should tell themselves that they will not do anything they will regret, sober up and deal with the issue when they have calmed down.
“Self-control is very important. It helps one avoid a lot of problems and saves a lot of people trouble,” said Mrs Sigauke.
Mr Muhle Tshuma (62) said: “A crime is a crime but people must also understand where the person is coming from. You cannot tell me that we can talk about it when I find you with my wife in my bed.
“There is nothing to talk about there. Someone who fails to respect another man’s wife should be dealt with before they get the opportunity to run away.”
Mr Tshuma said since most of these cases happen around love affairs, it should be taken into consideration that matters of the heart can result in serious consequences when one person in the love triangle is betrayed.
“It is unfortunate that people no longer take the institution of marriage seriously. People should just respect each other. That is the only way this problem can be solved,” said Mr Tshuma.
Giving a different opinion, Miss Mandisa Tshabangu (28) advised people to walk away from such circumstances.
“People should just walk away. You lose nothing by being the stronger person and just walk away from the temptation of battering someone especially if you have found them cheating on you.
“You become the bigger person by not retaliating and leave the other person wondering and feeling guilty. Although it may not be that easy, it is the best option; one that saves you from a lot of drama and trouble,” she said.
In some countries, many people who kill have escaped murder charges or even prison because of the legal defence that classifies their crimes as “crimes of passion”.
Experts say the purpose for a crime of passion defence is to rule out one very important element of murder, which is premeditation.
In order for an individual to be convicted of murder for example, he or she must have had intent. In other words, the perpetrator decided that he wanted to kill the victim, planned how to do it, and then executed his or her plan.
They say if there is no intent, or premeditation, the charges must be dropped to a lesser charge.
For one thing, murder is not a crime of passion unless the murder was committed immediately after the discovery of whatever prompted the attack.
For example, if a man walks into a bedroom and finds his wife in bed with another man, he might be able to claim a crime of passion defence if he kills the man right away.
However, if he leaves the room in shock, then comes back five hours later to kill his wife, this indicates intent, and therefore premeditation.
There should be no excuse for committing a crime, not shock, hurt or revenge. A crime is a crime regardless of the circumstances under which it has been committed.
Online Reporter