“Reasonable person test includes defendant's physical but not mental characteristics.”
Smith was a black American soldier who killed a fellow soldier after being called racial slurs and subjected to physical provocation. He raised the defense of provocation.
Whether the reasonable person test for provocation should take into account the defendant's race and physical characteristics when assessing loss of self-control.
The Court of Criminal Appeal allowed the appeal and substituted a conviction for manslaughter, finding provocation should be left to the jury.
This case was important in developing the law on provocation, particularly regarding which characteristics of the defendant could be attributed to the reasonable person. It was later developed in DPP v Camplin and other cases.
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OSCOLA Citation
R v Smith (Thomas Joseph) [1959] 2 QB 35
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