NCJ Number
127121
Journal
Akron Law Review Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: (Summer 1989) Pages: 89-104
Date Published
1990
Length
16 pages
Annotation
In State v. Stewart, the Kansas Supreme Court examined the issue of whether a battered woman who kills her sleeping husband is entitled to self-defense instructions. The author of the article maintains that the court moved backwards by deciding that because the woman was not in danger at the time of the killing, she was not acting in self defense. This contradicted previous rulings that a defendant is entitled to self-defense instructions when there is any evidence supporting self-defense.
Abstract
Some of the issues explored in relation to this case include the background of criminal justice on wife battering, the law of self-defense, and the impact of battered woman syndrome on the doctrine of self-defense. The Kansas Supreme Court's decision in State v. Stewart is evaluated in terms of its previous holding on quantity of evidence and imminent danger. The article argues that the battered woman syndrome will not become an independent form of self-defense leading to sanctions of unnecessary self-help. Successful use of battered woman syndrome testimony ensures the woman's right to act in self-defense and restricts the abuser's license to kill. 146 notes