NCJ Number
166723
Journal
Advocate Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: (July 1996) Pages: 52-59
Date Published
1996
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article examines the general principles of Kentucky laws regarding justification and mitigation in cases in which abused or battered women are defendants.
Abstract
The Kentucky legislature expanded the definition of domestic assault and amended the self-defense laws to aid attorneys defending battered women in 1992. If that defense is unsuccessful, courts may now modify the judgment of battered women convicted as violent offenders and consider them nonviolent offenders for purposes of parole eligibility. However, attorneys defending battered women need to be aware of several issues when deciding if the evidence of prior abuse should be brought to jurors; a backlash of sorts has developed in the use of prior abuse as a means to mitigate and sometimes justify a defendant's action. Attorneys should remember that a battered woman syndrome defense does not exist; the concept is merely a means to an end. They need to consider Kentucky statutes and case law related to self-defense, duress/coercion and lack of intention, and diminished capacity defenses such as insanity and extreme emotional disturbance.