‘Loss of self-control’

The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 section 55(3), 'loss of self-control' manslaughter, acknowledges 'fear of serious violence' as a 'qualifying trigger' which may 'cause' a defendant to lose self-control and kill another. The chapter argues that the construction of loss of self-control is bound together with anger in its interpretation and by the corroborative manifestations deemed demonstrative of its proof. It also argues that retention of loss of self-control as an excuse for killing cannot subvert the ideological fixity of language which at the level of meaning permits sexual infidelity at least in some form to continue as an excuse for conduct. Loss of self-control in its traditional form will need to be uncoupled from anger. The chapter explores whether there truly is a performative place for the defence of fear / loss of self-control and also considers the interface between fear and self-defence for the abused intimate partner who kills.