Defending Battered Women On Trial

In the landmark Lavallee decision of 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that evidence of "battered woman syndrome" was admissible in establishing self-defence for women accused of killing their abusive partners. This book looks at the trials of eleven battered women, ten of whom killed their partners, in the fifteen years since Lavallee. Drawing extensively on trial transcripts and a rich expanse of interdisciplinary sources, the author looks at the evidence produced at trial and at how self-defence was argued. By illuminating these cases, this book uncovers the practical and legal dilemmas faced by battered women on trial for murder.

In this latest edition of her groundbreaking book, Dr. Lenore Walker has provided a thorough update to her original findings in the field of domestic abuse. Each chapter has been expanded to include new research. The volume contains the latest on the impact of exposure to violence on children, marital rape, child abuse, personality characteristics of different types of batterers, new psychotherapy models for batterers and their victims, and more. Walker also speaks out on her involvement in the O.J. Simpson trial as a defense witness and how he does not fit the empirical data known for domestic violence. This volume should be required reading for all professionals in the field of domestic abuse. For Further Information, Please Click Here!

In the landmark Lavallee decision of 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that evidence of "battered woman syndrome" was admissible in establishing self-defence for women accused of killing their abusive partners. This book looks at the trials of eleven battered women, ten of whom killed their partners, in the fifteen years since Lavallee. Drawing extensively on trial transcripts and a rich expanse of interdisciplinary sources, the author looks at the evidence produced at trial and at how self-defence was argued. By illuminating these cases, this book uncovers the practical and legal dilemmas faced by battered women on trial for murder.

Drawing on cases, Stark identifies the problems with our current approach to domestic violence, outlines the components of coercive control, and then uses this alternate framework to analyse the cases of battered women charged with criminal offenses directed at their abusers.

In December 1990 Ohio governor Richard F. Celeste granted clemency to 25 women who had been incarcerated for killing or assaulting abusive partners or stepfathers. Governors in other states quickly followed. This book documents the history of the feminist and social activist groups working within the context of the battered women's movement and the role they playing in making these events possible. The book examines the Ohio movement as a precedent-setting case study, then discusses and analyzes events in six other states where large-scale clemencies were achieved or attempted. Before clemency became a movement goal, feminist legal activists worked for two decades to challenge laws that they argued prevented women from fully defending themselves when accused of killing abusive men. One focus was to ensure that the women who killed could describe the danger with which they had lived and explain the basis of their belief that force was needed to defend their lives. Within a few years, some activists began to frame their legal defense strategies within the language of the battered woman syndrome, a strategy that remains controversial. The book analyses the strategies and achievements of the movement for clemency review, identifying the factors that led to success or failure. The last chapter looks at the post-prison lives of some of the 25 Ohio women who received clemency.

The use of the battered woman syndrome defense in the courts is controversial, particularly when women turn to homicide in response to a partner's abuse. Scholars worry that the syndrome has created a standard to which all battered women are compared. This book provides a comprehensive examination of the evolution of the syndrome, its effectiveness in court, and the contributions made by psychologists and legal scholars to aid our understanding of the use of battered woman syndrome evidence in trials of abused women who kill. Of particular interest is the influence of history, gender roles, and stereotypes in the evaluation of defendants who claim to suffer from the syndrome.

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