Mark suspects that his wife has been cheating on him. In order to confirm his suspicions, he leaves work early in hopes of catching his wife “in the act.” As he suspected, Mark’s wife was in bed with his best friend. Mark threw down his briefcase, broke some dishes in the living room, and left the house. The next morning, Mark drove to his best friend’s apartment. He took a gun out of his glove compartment, walked up to the door, and when his best friend answered, Mark shot him three times. Mark then called the police and stated that he had just murdered his best friend. He did not attempt to flee, but instead waited for the police to arrive. What facts support a conviction for voluntary manslaughter? Could Mark plead voluntary manslaughter based on the claim that his best friend

Question

insulted him when he answered the door? Why or why not? What if Mark would have shot his best friend when Mark walked in on his wife and best friend?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

To establish voluntary manslaughter, there must be a killing done in the heat of passion (no cooling of blood) in response to adequate provocation. To convict Mark of voluntary manslaughter, students must determine whether seeing his wife in bed with his best friend amounted to adequate provocation. If so, then the students must determine whether Mark’s blood had cooled or not at the time that the killing was committed. The amount of time Mark waited to kill his best friend is irrelevant. As long as it was inferable that Mark’s blood had not cooled at the time of the killing, then Mark can be convicted of voluntary manslaughter. If Mark claimed that his best friend insulted him prior to the killing, Mark cannot plead voluntary manslaughter because mere words (except informational words) are not considered adequate provocation. If Mark shot his best friend when he walked in on his wife and best friend, students must still establish adequate provocation and heat of passion.