PASSIONATE CRIME AND LEGAL EVOLUTION IN BRAZIL: REFLECTIONS ON VIOLENCE MOTIVATED BY EXTREME EMOTIONS

Abstract

This article aims to discuss about passionate murder and the legal standardization for the typification in the Brazilian legal system. It is a controversial issue in the legal field because there is no clear definition in the Brazilian Penal Code, and there is a need to discuss the best position on how to punish the offender of murder with passion, and therefore the subject of heated debates in both the judicial sphere and in society. In this sense, the general objective was to analyze the murder of passion in the Brazilian legal system, relating it to the evolution of crimes of passion. The justification for choosing this theme came from the importance of demonstrating that in the case of passion killings there is no logical link between personality disorders and the capacity to understand and to want, but rather, that this type of homicide is harmful to the ethical aspect of conscience. The methodology adopted was a descriptive, explanatory, and qualitative bibliographic research, based on books, articles, and other printed and electronic media related to the subject. The conclusions point out that there is currently a legal protection for women victims of violence, both from the Maria da Penha Law and the Feminicide Law, toughening the punishment for their aggressors who commit homicides and feminicides.