Sudden Passion is defined as?

• A. Passion directly caused by provocation arising at the time of the offense
• B. Passion arising long after the offense
• C. Passion arising from prior provocation
• D. No passion

Answer: (A)

Sudden passion is an emotional state triggered by provocation that arises at the moment of the offense. Because the provocation is immediate, the person acts impulsively rather than after careful deliberation, which can reduce a charge from murder to manslaughter in jurisdictions that recognize this defense. If the passion comes from something that happened long before or from prior provocation, it does not qualify as sudden passion. For example, an impulsive reaction to discovering a spouse's infidelity at that moment fits, whereas brooding for hours or days afterward does not.