Battered Woman Syndrome
Battered Women Syndrome
By Alexus Ellis
Francine Hughes, Angelique Lyn Lavallee, and Angelina Napolitano. What do these women have in common? They all have used the battered women defense in court. Some might say this defense is make believe, claiming it isn’t a real syndrome and is an excuse for murder. Let me put you in a hypothetical situation. You have been abused by your husband since you got married and one night he takes the abuse to another level. He is throwing things left and right, breaking mirrors and making his fists bleed. Your children are awakened and go downstairs, behind enemy lines. You are scared for their lives. You have been beaten so many times he’s set it in your mind that he knows your whereabouts at all times and knows everything. You can’t run away; he’ll find you. You can’t stay and take it; you love your children too much. The only option is to fight back. Most criticize the defense without ever being in that situation. I believe it is a lack of knowledge on the issue. The jury and the judge only know it as a case of murder due to the fact that is the only thing they have solid evidence of. The forensics only have the blood samples, the DNA samples, the fingerprints and the weapon used. They don’t know the events leading up to the murder. They don’t know what the woman, or suspect, had been through the day before or the week before or even the month before. These are the things that they will only be enlightened with if told by the woman in court. By this, they won’t believe what they are hearing. It’s secondhand information. They were not there when she was being threatened. They didn’t get front row seats to view the abusers aggression. That is the sole reason this syndrome isn’t taken seriously; no one really knows what happened.
The Battered Women Syndrome
Battered Women Syndrome is defined as “the mindset and emotional state of a battered woman. A battered woman is a woman who has experienced at least two complete battering
By Alexus Ellis
Francine Hughes, Angelique Lyn Lavallee, and Angelina Napolitano. What do these women have in common? They all have used the battered women defense in court. Some might say this defense is make believe, claiming it isn’t a real syndrome and is an excuse for murder. Let me put you in a hypothetical situation. You have been abused by your husband since you got married and one night he takes the abuse to another level. He is throwing things left and right, breaking mirrors and making his fists bleed. Your children are awakened and go downstairs, behind enemy lines. You are scared for their lives. You have been beaten so many times he’s set it in your mind that he knows your whereabouts at all times and knows everything. You can’t run away; he’ll find you. You can’t stay and take it; you love your children too much. The only option is to fight back. Most criticize the defense without ever being in that situation. I believe it is a lack of knowledge on the issue. The jury and the judge only know it as a case of murder due to the fact that is the only thing they have solid evidence of. The forensics only have the blood samples, the DNA samples, the fingerprints and the weapon used. They don’t know the events leading up to the murder. They don’t know what the woman, or suspect, had been through the day before or the week before or even the month before. These are the things that they will only be enlightened with if told by the woman in court. By this, they won’t believe what they are hearing. It’s secondhand information. They were not there when she was being threatened. They didn’t get front row seats to view the abusers aggression. That is the sole reason this syndrome isn’t taken seriously; no one really knows what happened.
The Battered Women Syndrome
Battered Women Syndrome is defined as “the mindset and emotional state of a battered woman. A battered woman is a woman who has experienced at least two complete battering
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