Editing Crime of passion (section)

==Crimes of passion and juries==
The role of [[juries]] in trials of crimes of passion is controversial. In Brazil especially, there have been concerns that the jury system is deeply flawed, both due to the bias of juries, and due to the legal framework, which gives immense power to juries, and there is little that can be done even in jury decisions that are in blatant violation of the law. In Brazil, there is no "right" of a man to kill his wife, in fact the legal right of a husband to kill his wife due to adultery was abolished very early, in 1830.<ref name="hrw.org">{{Cite web |title=CRIMINAL INJUSTICE: Violence Against Women in Brazil |url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/BRAZIL91O.PDF |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206011841/https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/BRAZIL91O.PDF |archive-date=2021-12-06 |access-date=2021-11-21}}</ref> Nevertheless, acquittals in cases of men killing their wives have been very common throughout the 19th and 20th century, and have happened even in the 21st century. Men have been acquitted for killing wives due to a variety of reasons, including infidelity, attempting to leave the relationship, and refusing to have sex.<ref name="hrw.org"/> In 1991, the Supreme Court ruled that the so-called [[legitimate defense of honor]], used in these trials, has no basis in Brazilian law.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/us/honor-killing-of-wives-is-outlawed-in-brazil.html |title='Honor' Killing of Wives is Outlawed in Brazil - NYTimes.com |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 March 1991 |access-date=2017-02-15 |archive-date=2017-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209213050/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/us/honor-killing-of-wives-is-outlawed-in-brazil.html |url-status=live |last1=Brooke |first1=James }}</ref> Nevertheless, the legitimate defense of honor has continued to be used, including in a 2017 case of attempted murder where a man was acquitted for stabbing his ex-wife. The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal on the basis that the decision of a jury is sovereign and may not be altered.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/brazils-federal-supreme-court-acquits-femicide-case-over-defense-of-honor/ |title=Brazil's Supreme Court Confirms Jury Verdict of Acquittal in Femicide Case - the Rio Times |date=October 2020 |access-date=2021-11-21 |archive-date=2021-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121153253/https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/brazils-federal-supreme-court-acquits-femicide-case-over-defense-of-honor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, the Supreme Court was asked to analyze the legitimate defense of honor, and ruled that the defense is not part of Brazilian law, reiterating the 1991 decision, and also ruled that this defense is unconstitutional; the ruling provided for the possibly of the prosecution to contest the decision of the jury on the basis that it is void if such defense has been used,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.politize.com.br/tese-da-legitima-defesa-da-honra/ |title=A Tese da Legítima Defesa da Honra: O que é e por que é inconstitucional? &#124; Politize! |date=29 July 2021 |access-date=2021-11-21 |archive-date=2021-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121154756/https://www.politize.com.br/tese-da-legitima-defesa-da-honra/ |url-status=live }}</ref> with the final ruling being affirmed in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-01 |title=STF invalida uso da 'legítima defesa da honra' em feminicídios |url=https://g1.globo.com/politica/noticia/2023/08/01/stf-invalida-uso-da-legitima-defesa-da-honra-em-casos-de-feminicidio.ghtml |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=G1 |language=pt-br}}
</ref> The Supreme Court unanimously considered that the legitimate defense of honor is contrary to the principles of gender equality, human dignity and protection of life provided for in the [[Constitution of Brazil]], for which reason it prohibited its direct or indirect use during trials.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paudal |date=2023-08-01 |title=The Supreme Court of Brazil prohibits feminicides from appealing to the "defense of honor" |url=https://www.paudal.com/2023/08/01/the-supreme-court-of-brazil-prohibits-feminicides-from-appealing-to-the-defense-of-honor/ |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Paudal |language=en-US}}</ref> It is still not clear how and whether the prohibition of this defense can be implemented. Legal experts and politicians have expresses serious concerns of the way juries operate in Brazil, calling the legal organization anachronistic. According to a criminal court judge:

::"The popular jury trials for murder leave the prosecutor with no recourse. He can appeal a jury verdict or a sentence and be supported by the higher court, as in Lopes, but each case returns to the state jury tribunal...In this jury system the jury decides according to its conscience not according to the law."<ref name="hrw.org"/>

A study prepared for the National Council on the Rights of Women found that:

::"[the jury] "doesn't evaluate the crime in itself, but instead evaluates the victim and the accused's life, trying to show how adapted each one is to what they imagine should be the correct behavior for a husband and wife....The man can always be acquitted if the defense manages to convince the jury that he was a good and honest worker, a dedicated father and husband, while the woman was unfaithful and did not fulfill her responsibilities as a housewife and mother....This way the ones involved in the crime are judged distinctly. Men and women are attributed different roles, in a pattern that excludes citizenship and equality of rights."<ref name="hrw.org"/>

Brazil is not the only country where there are or have been controversies about juries in crimes of passion cases; the ability of juries to return fair verdicts in crimes of passion in the [[French Third Republic]] was a major issue.<ref name="researchgate.net"/> In India, it was a crime of passion that led to the abolition of jury trials, after a man was acquitted by a jury for killing his wife's lover.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/the-case-that-inspired-rustom-and-abolished-indias-jury-system |title=The Case that Inspired 'Rustom' and Abolished India's Jury System |date=12 August 2016 |access-date=2021-11-21 |archive-date=2021-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121153252/https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/the-case-that-inspired-rustom-and-abolished-indias-jury-system |url-status=live }}</ref>