The defense of diminished responsibility provides that a person convicted of homicide who has some form of mental disorder sufficient to reduce moral culpability in the act can, if the defense is successful, be convicted of manslaughter instead of murder. Such a defense is currently available in Scotland, England, and the Australian States of Queensland and New South Wales. In Victoria, the law makes no provision for such a defense. If the defense of insanity is not pursued and a guilty verdict is returned in a murder case, a Victoria court has no option but to sentence the offender to life imprisonment. Thus, apart from the effect given to legal insanity, Victoria law makes no allowance in murder cases for the emotional disturbance and distortion of reason produced by intense jealousy, pity, or pain, both mental and physical. The defense of diminished responsibility is recommended as a means of removing the stigma of 'murderer' from those whose limited moral culpability does not deserve such a stigma, and it would allow the court flexibility in sentencing those whose criminal responsibility does not warrant life imprisonment. Currently, the maximum sentence for manslaughter in Victoria is 15 years in prison. It is recommended that life imprisonment be instituted as the maximum sentence as a sentencing option for an offender with a mental disorder of a character that will make him/her a continuing danger to the community. There should, however, be provision for parole should the person's mental condition improve sufficiently. Complementing legislation should improve the extent and quality of mental health services available for mentally ill offenders. A total of 73 footnotes are provided, and an appended table shows the number of persons convicted of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility in England and Wales for 1957-78.