Battered Women Syndrome
"I have read and am aware of the university requirements regarding academic honesty."
Should the battered woman syndrome be admissible as a murder defense in American courts and should expert testimony be permitted on such a syndrome? Since the 1970’s when the battered woman syndrome was first proposed by Dr. Lenore Walker, women have been using this syndrome to proclaim mental illness due to the syndrome aligned with self-defense as an excuse for their crimes (Dixon, 2001). Dr. Walker defined the battered woman as, “A battered woman is a woman who is repeatedly subjected to any forceful physical or psychological behavior by a man in order to coerce her to do something he wants her to do without any concern for her rights. [In] order to be classified as a battered woman, the couple must go through the battering cycle at least twice” (Mihajlovich, 1987). Naturally, many questions have risen as a result of such a syndrome and then, a defense for such a syndrome. First, is there even such a thing as a “battered woman syndrome defense”? Second, “whether proponents of the battered woman syndrome use the courtroom to promote a particular subclass of self-defense for women who have been ignored by the legal system far too long; and whether there is a proper role for expert testimony on the battered woman syndrome in self-defense cases?” (Mihajlovich, 1987).
To answer the question on whether or not the syndrome actually exists and whether, therefore, it is reasonable to admit a defense for women who suffer from it, one may conclude that battered woman syndrome (BWS) has never been empirically validated through scientific research “as a bona fide condition, and therefore it has not enjoyed widespread support by psychologists who practice clinical and forensic psychology” (Dixon, 2001). Additionally, permitting expert testimony on a syndrome that has not been empirically validated nor accepted as a legitimate mental
Should the battered woman syndrome be admissible as a murder defense in American courts and should expert testimony be permitted on such a syndrome? Since the 1970’s when the battered woman syndrome was first proposed by Dr. Lenore Walker, women have been using this syndrome to proclaim mental illness due to the syndrome aligned with self-defense as an excuse for their crimes (Dixon, 2001). Dr. Walker defined the battered woman as, “A battered woman is a woman who is repeatedly subjected to any forceful physical or psychological behavior by a man in order to coerce her to do something he wants her to do without any concern for her rights. [In] order to be classified as a battered woman, the couple must go through the battering cycle at least twice” (Mihajlovich, 1987). Naturally, many questions have risen as a result of such a syndrome and then, a defense for such a syndrome. First, is there even such a thing as a “battered woman syndrome defense”? Second, “whether proponents of the battered woman syndrome use the courtroom to promote a particular subclass of self-defense for women who have been ignored by the legal system far too long; and whether there is a proper role for expert testimony on the battered woman syndrome in self-defense cases?” (Mihajlovich, 1987).
To answer the question on whether or not the syndrome actually exists and whether, therefore, it is reasonable to admit a defense for women who suffer from it, one may conclude that battered woman syndrome (BWS) has never been empirically validated through scientific research “as a bona fide condition, and therefore it has not enjoyed widespread support by psychologists who practice clinical and forensic psychology” (Dixon, 2001). Additionally, permitting expert testimony on a syndrome that has not been empirically validated nor accepted as a legitimate mental
References: Dixon, J. W. (2001). An essay on battered woman syndrome. Fulero, S., & Wrightsman, L. (2009). Forensic psychology. (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Mihajlovich, M. (1987). Does plight make right: The battered woman syndrome, expert testimony and the law of self-defense. Indiana Law Journal, 62(4), 1253-1282. Retrievedfrom http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2105 context=ilg&eiredir=1&referer=http://scholar.google.com/scholar?start=10&q=should+ attered+wo en%27s+syndrome+be+a+defense%3F&hl=en&as_sdt=0.33 State v. stewart, 763 p.2d 572 (1988). (1988). Retrieved from http://www.soc.umn.edu/~samaha/cases/st v stewart.htm Wimberly, M.H. (n.d.). Defending victims of domestic violence who kill their batterers: Using the trial expert. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/domviol/docs/Wimberly.au hchekdam.pdf