NCJ Number
203221
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 8 Issue: 6 Dated: November-December 2003 Pages: 671-683
Date Published
November 2003
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article argues for the expansion of the self-defense claim based on the battered child syndrome as a legal defense in cases of parricide (killing of a parent).
Abstract
Parricide is more often committed by adult children than adolescent children. Between 1977 and 1986, only 25 percent of fathers and 15 percent of mothers who were victims of parricide were killed by adolescents under the age of 18. It is rare that adult children kill parents in retaliation for abuse. Such cases of parricide most often stem from the offender's mental disorder. Research findings suggest that adolescents who kill their parents have very different characteristics from adolescents who kill strangers, such that they should be viewed differently by courts. What drives adolescent parricide offenders to kill a parent is much different from that which motivates adolescent homicide offenders. The three types of individuals who commit parricide are not exclusive categories. They are severely mentally ill children, dangerously antisocial children, and severely abused children. The latter is by far the most common type of adolescent parricide offender. After years of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, these adolescents see no way out of their situation except to kill their abuser. Battered child syndrome is often used to describe the condition that erupts in parricide. Through repeated abuse, these adolescents develop a sense of helplessness and a sense that there is no one and no way to change their situation. A key feature of battered child syndrome is that the adolescent becomes hypervigilant. He/she learns when to expect more abuse and how bad the abuse will be based on the abuser's actions and reactions. If the courts are to adopt a fair adjudication of adolescent parricide offenders, they must allow expert testimony on the battered child syndrome. Such expert testimony must be based on persuasive research on the syndrome. Some States have already begun to accept battered child syndrome as self-defense, namely, Texas and Washington. Cases and laws in these States go beyond the traditional definition of self-defense and acknowledge that some children who kill their parents do so out of a legitimate fear for their lives. Acknowledgement of the battered child syndrome and its potential for a lethal outcome should provide strong motivation for the prevention of and early intervention into child abuse. 23 references