The defendant was convicted of murder and appealed, claiming the manslaughter instruction had "improperly placed upon him the burden of proving that he acted under the influence of a sudden passion or rage".

[1] Robert Shane strangled his fiancee, Tina Wagner, after she verbally admitted to sleeping with other men.

Ohio's murder statute requires "serious provocation occasioned by the victim that is reasonably sufficient to incite the person into using deadly force".

Under the court's two-step analysis a trial judge would first apply an objective standard to evaluate whether the provocation was "reasonably sufficient" to bring on a sudden passion or fit of rage.

[4][5][1] The court held that "words alone will not constitute reasonably sufficient provocation to incite the use of deadly force in most situation".