The Burning Bed
"The Burning Bed"
A turning point in battle against domestic violence
Research Paper
Department of Criminal Justice
Fall 2013
Introduction
Beaten, bruised, broken bones and black eyes. Humiliated, discouraged and emotionally damaged. These are just a few of the things that Francine Hughes went through for over 12 years receiving abuse from her husband, James “Mickey” Hughes. Every nine seconds in the U.S. a women is assaulted or beaten (Schneider, 2000). Her story is a unique one in a sense, which she lived in a time where no one spoke publically about spousal abuse at all. Women were told that what happens in the house stays in the house and no one else should know about it. So for years Francine stood firm to that pact until the day she couldn’t take anymore. March 9, 1977, was that day.
This research explores the story of Francine Hughes and how she killed her husband Mickey Hughes. This research will give statistical information about how the Criminal Justice System changed after the acquittal of Francine Hughes as well. Finally, this research will show the correlation of the awareness of abuse to women before and after the case was complete.
Francine Hughes, born and raised in Michigan met James Mickey Hughes when she was sixteen. Ironically, her father was abusive to her mother. "My mother stayed because of the children," says Francine, who left school and married Mickey Hughes, an aloof 18-year-old dropout. "I thought he was so sophisticated. He had his own car and most people I knew didn 't." (Diliberto, 1984). The abuse began shortly after their wedding. He started out lightly by ripping off her clothes because he felt she was dressing too provocatively. He would be mentally abusive and tell her things about how she looked and how stupid she was. Because he didn’t finish school, Mickey was always looking for a job. Mickey drifted from job to job, doing construction work and other forms of
A turning point in battle against domestic violence
Research Paper
Department of Criminal Justice
Fall 2013
Introduction
Beaten, bruised, broken bones and black eyes. Humiliated, discouraged and emotionally damaged. These are just a few of the things that Francine Hughes went through for over 12 years receiving abuse from her husband, James “Mickey” Hughes. Every nine seconds in the U.S. a women is assaulted or beaten (Schneider, 2000). Her story is a unique one in a sense, which she lived in a time where no one spoke publically about spousal abuse at all. Women were told that what happens in the house stays in the house and no one else should know about it. So for years Francine stood firm to that pact until the day she couldn’t take anymore. March 9, 1977, was that day.
This research explores the story of Francine Hughes and how she killed her husband Mickey Hughes. This research will give statistical information about how the Criminal Justice System changed after the acquittal of Francine Hughes as well. Finally, this research will show the correlation of the awareness of abuse to women before and after the case was complete.
Francine Hughes, born and raised in Michigan met James Mickey Hughes when she was sixteen. Ironically, her father was abusive to her mother. "My mother stayed because of the children," says Francine, who left school and married Mickey Hughes, an aloof 18-year-old dropout. "I thought he was so sophisticated. He had his own car and most people I knew didn 't." (Diliberto, 1984). The abuse began shortly after their wedding. He started out lightly by ripping off her clothes because he felt she was dressing too provocatively. He would be mentally abusive and tell her things about how she looked and how stupid she was. Because he didn’t finish school, Mickey was always looking for a job. Mickey drifted from job to job, doing construction work and other forms of