Heat of passion or sudden passion is any intense, emotional excitement that prompts violent and aggressive action, such as rage, anger, hatred, furious resentment, fright, or terror that would cause an ordinary person to act on impulse and without reflection. When a crime such as murder is committed in the heat of passion and in response to a provocation—as opposed to being premeditated or deliberated—the provocation may serve as a partial defense to the crime by eliminating the premeditation element of a murder charge (also known as malice or malice aforethought), reducing the charge to manslaughter, for example.

The classic example of heat of passion provocation is when a spouse or lover finds his or her partner in an intimate place or sexual act with another person and shoots, stabs, or otherwise kills or attempts to kill one or both of them. The heat of passion defense is only available when the defendant reacts immediately to the provocation and without cooling off. If, for example, the defendant leaves and returns 30 minutes later to kill the cheating spouse, the heat of passion defense may not be available.

And in some states the heat of passion defense may also apply when the defendant had the honest but unreasonable belief he was confronted with deadly force, and used deadly force to defend himself.

Laws regarding the availability of the heat of passion defense vary from state to state. Some state laws downgrade a murder charge to manslaughter when the crime was committed under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse. These laws are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

And even when a partial defense of heat of passion or extreme mental or emotional disturbance may be available to a defendant, a conviction for manslaughter can carry a lengthy prison term and other serious consequences.

In Indiana, the concept of 'heat of passion' or 'sudden passion' is recognized as a mitigating factor that can reduce a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter. According to Indiana law, if a person kills another human being while acting under sudden heat, the offense is mitigated from what would otherwise be murder to voluntary manslaughter (Indiana Code 35-42-1-3). 'Sudden heat' is defined as sufficient provocation caused by anger, rage, resentment, or terror that is sufficient to obscure the reason of an ordinary person, preventing deliberation and premeditation. This defense is applicable when the defendant acts immediately upon the provocation without time to 'cool off.' However, if there is a significant break between the provocation and the act, the defense may not be available. The defense also does not apply if the belief in the need to use deadly force was unreasonable. While this can serve as a partial defense, a conviction for voluntary manslaughter still carries serious penalties, including a potential lengthy prison sentence.