“Reasonable person test includes age and relevant characteristics affecting gravity of provocation.”
Camplin, a 15-year-old boy, killed a man who had sexually assaulted him and then taunted him about it. He was convicted of murder and appealed on grounds of provocation.
Whether the age of the defendant and other characteristics should be taken into account when applying the reasonable person test in provocation.
The House of Lords allowed the appeal and substituted a conviction for manslaughter.
This case established the modern approach to provocation that was followed until the abolition of provocation and introduction of loss of control. It provided crucial clarity on which characteristics could be attributed to the reasonable person and influenced decades of provocation law.
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OSCOLA Citation
DPP v Camplin [1978] AC 705
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