Popular opinion, if not courts of law, sometimes view the commission of murder or of grievous bodily harm more sympathetically as a crime of passion—a physical outbreak of intense jealousy responding to presumed or witnessed sexual deception. An important aspect of determining a crime of passion is the immediacy of the response.
Societies in which honour forms a governing principle may react similarly to altercations caused by personal insults or may defer immediate action preferring to consult among family members and act in concert.
In some countries, notably France, Crime passionnel has been a valid defence during murder cases.
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