NCJ Number
119339
Date Published
1989
Length
393 pages
Annotation
Estimates of battered women in the United States range from 2 to 40 million, and some of these women take the law into their own hands by killing or injuring their abusers.
Abstract
The fair legal representation of battered women who kill involves a combination of appropriate legal strategies and the social and behavioral sciences. The legal and psychological articles in this book are intended to provide attorneys, psychiatrists, psychologists, and other professionals with data about and defense strategies for battered women who kill their abusers. The first three sections note studies of battered women who kill, characteristics of the battered woman syndrome, self-defense and expert testimony issues, and medico-legal aspects of representing the battered woman. The next section reviews mental assessment approaches to the battered woman syndrome, with attention paid to personality, stress, and disassociative disorders. Two sections deal with expert testimony on the battered woman syndrome and the admissibility of evidence on a victim's character or reputation. The final sections consider the law regarding duty (or lack thereof) to retreat before using self-defense, court cases involving battered women who killed, voir dire, jury instructions, and the prosecution perspective on the battered woman syndrome and self-defense. 175 references, 5 tables.