B.C. judge rules 'provocation' defence for accused killers is too narrow

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that a 2015 Criminal Code change limiting when an accused killer can use the defence of provocation is unconstitutional.
Justice Douglas Thompson said that the amendment, part of the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, only allowed for the partial defence of provocation in murder cases if the victim had committed an indictable offence punishable by a sentence of five or more years.
Prior to the 2015 change, provocation was defined as