Honor Murder

The honor murder is a crime committed to avenge the honorability of one's name or family for a subjective motivation of the person who commits it, aimed at safeguarding a particular form of honor or reputation, with particular reference to sexual relations, marriages or in any case of family.

History

Zanardell's penal code of 1889

In Italy, until the end of the twentieth century, the commission of a crime perpetrated in order to safeguard honor (for example the killing of an adulterous spouse or the lover of this or both) was sanctioned with lesser penalties compared to a similar crime with a different motive, since it was recognized that the offense to honor caused by a "dishonorable" conduct amounted to very serious provocation and the reparation of honor did not cause social reproach. Also, the art. 369 of the Zanardelli penal code of 1889, also recognized the extenuating circumstances for those who committed infanticide for reasons of honor, killing children born out of wedlock . These children were called "illegitimate offspring". The extenuating circumstances were valid as long as the child had not been born for more than five days and in any case was not registered in the registry office.

The Rocco Code

In 1930, the art. 587 of the italian Rocco's penal code allowed the penalty for killing a wife, daughter or sister to be reduced in order to defend "one's honor or that of the one's family". The foreseen circumstance required that there be a state of anger (which was in practice always presumed). The reason for the diminuent was to be found in an "illegitimate carnal relationship" involving one of the women of the family, thus constituting an offense to honor. The other protagonist of the illegitimate relationship could therefore also be killed against an equal penalty.

Constitutional Court of 1968

The first innovation came from the Constitutional Court, which had sanctioned the unconstitutionality of art. 559 of the Criminal Code, which provided for the punishment of only the wife's adultery and not also of the husband and of the husband's concubinage. The first sentence was followed, at least temporarily, by a bill by the Hon. Oronzo Reale, Minister Keeper, who proposed the abolition of the special provisions on injuries and "a cause of honor", proposals resumed a few months later by a project to revise the penal system entrusted to Giuliano Vassalli. The proposals had remained without effect, both for problems of insufficient duration of the legislatures, and for a certain position of "no dislike" on the part of public opinion.

Repeal of the law

The provisions on honor murder were repealed on the 5th August 1981.