Section 52 - Intentional murder reduced to manslaughter

A person who intentionally causes the death of another person by unlawful harm commits manslaughter, and not murder or attempted murder, if that person

(a) was deprived of the power of self-control by an extreme provocation given by the other person as is mentioned in sections 53, 54, 55 and 56; or

(b) was justified in causing harm to the other person, and, in causing harm in excess of the harm which that person was justified in causing, that person acted from a terror of immediate death or grievous harm that in fact deprived that person for the time being of the power of self-control; or

(c) in causing the death, acted in the belief, in good faith and on reasonable grounds, of being under a legal duty to cause the death or to do the act which that person did; or

(d) being a woman she caused the death of a child, which is a child under the age of twelve months, at a time when the balance of her mind was disturbed because she had not fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of the effect of lactation consequent on the birth of the child.

Illustration

Paragraph (c) A soldier is ordered by the commanding officer to fire on a mob, there being no necessity for the order to be given. Here, if the soldier in good faith personally believed to be bound to obey the order, the soldier did not commit murder, but committed manslaughter.