Partial Defences

In the context of murder, the partial defences comprise provocation, diminished responsibility and suicide pact. Even where these defences succeed, they do not result in the defendant's complete acquittal, but reduce the offence from murder to manslaughter.

This means that if the defendant successfully raises a partial defence, he will not be found "not guilty". More accurately, he will be found not guilty of murder and convicted instead of the less serious offence of manslaughter. The penalty for manslaughter differs from that for murder and is not a statutorily mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.