NCJ Number
197158
Journal
Domestic Violence Report Volume: 7 Issue: 6 Dated: August/September 2002 Pages: 81,94,95
Date Published
August 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on the consideration being shown to battered women in California who are currently incarcerated for murdering their abusers.
Abstract
Discussing women who are incarcerated in California’s prisons for women, this article addresses changes in the treatment of battered women convicted of murdering their abusers. After discussing two California Supreme Court decisions that have improved the potency of a battered women syndrome (BWS) defense strategy, the author describes the increasing admissibility of BWS defense that has enabled California’s legal system to better recognize the plight of battered women who kill their abusers. This article contends that the help of the families and friends of battered women and the review of battered women cases by the Board of Prison Terms (BPT) has led the prison system to consider psychological, economic, and social abuse in addition to cases of physical abuse, creating a battered women syndrome scale. Using the BWS scale, BPT panels are making supportive decisions about the future of battered women who have killed their abusers. Because of growing compassion for the plight of women on the part of California’s State legislature, the author suggests that despite slow progress in obtaining early releases for incarcerated battered women, in time, more and more battered women will receive early parole. References