[Xaccers]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

What? I don't think so!!

homosexual advance defence

A homosexual panic defence, or Portsmouth defence, is a variation on the defence of provocation, a defence that only applies on a charge of murder.


If accepted it reduces the defendantâ₠¬â„¢s liability to a charge of murder. Murder carries a mandatory life sentence; the sentence for manslaughter is at a judge's discretion.

What is the defence?
The accused claims that the victim made a homosexual advance that caused him to lose control and attack the victim. If there is any evidence that the accused was provoked (and the defendantââ‚ ¬â„¢s own words are enough) the judge must let the jury decide whether the defendant was provoked and whether a †˜reasonable manââ‚Âà ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢ would have been similarly provoked.

How it is used
In 1994 Al Francisco Delamotta was murdered in Ramsgate. Delamotta was a married man with three children; there is no evidence to suggest he was bisexual. He was stabbed in the chest and back by David Hunt, an unemployed labourer at Delamotta's home in Ramsgate. Hunt claimed that Delamotta, whom he had met while out drinking, made homosexual advances to him. There was no evidence other than Huntâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s word that this was the case; nevertheless Huntâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s plea of provocation was accepted and he was sentenced to five years for manslaughter.