Battered Woman Syndrome Should Be a Legal Defense (From America's Victims: Opposing Viewpoints, P 150-153, 1996, David Bender, Bruno Leone, et al, eds. -- See NCJ-165502)

• NCJ Number: 165520
• Author(s): T Decarlo
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: Greenhaven Press
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Opposing Viewpoints Series. Editorial, "Not Guilty on Grounds of Being a Victim," reprinted from Glamour (July 1994)

Annotation

This editorial contends that the battered woman syndrome is often a valid criminal defense; in order for judges and juries to fairly respond to an abused woman's circumstances, the terror and powerlessness she experiences must be properly explained to them.

Abstract

The widespread trauma of abuse is being increasingly recognized, and the behavioral effects of abuse are becoming more understood. Nonetheless, the backlash against the excesses of the "abuse excuse" threatens real victims, particularly domestic violence victims. In recent years, the battered woman syndrome has become a sometimes successful defense for women who finally kill their abusers after years of brutal physical abuse. The key issue is whether there is a difference between the abuse excuse and the claim of women that victimhood justifies violence. Although the abuse excuse should not be used to abdicate personal responsibility, the defense is legitimate in some cases.