Chance medley (from the Anglo-French chance-medlee, a mixed chance), also 'chaunce medley' or 'chaude melle', is a term from English law used to describe a homicide arising from a sudden quarrel or fight. In other words, the term describes "the casual killing of a man, not altogether without the killer's fault, though without an evil intent; homicide by misadventure". The term distinguishes a killing that lacks malice aforethought necessary for murder, on the one hand, and pure accident on the other.
An early version of voluntary manslaughter, "chance medley" was a common defense in the 16th and 17th centuries but had fallen out of use by the 18th century, gradually replaced by the doctrine of provocation.
References
- Kesselring, K.(2016-05-12). ‘Murder’s Crimson Badge’: Homicide in the Age of Shakespeare. In The Oxford Handbook of the Age of Shakespeare. : Oxford University Press.
- Laurie J. Taylor, Provoked Reason in Men and Women: Heat-of-Passion Manslaughter and Imperfect Self-Defense, 33 UCLA L. Rev. 1679 (1986).
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chance-medley" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 835.
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