The Murder Of Sam 's Wife

“Abuse is still seriously under reported. I was told by leading British social worker that when they hold training courses for employees, they find that a third of the females and slightly less of the males come forward to talk about their childhood experiences of being abused. Over ninety percent of parents as some time hit their children – and some people hit them several times a week – so there is a great deal of emotional hurt, fear and physical pain in the world today” (Davis 251). For this reason alone it makes perfect sense why violent crime rates are so frighteningly high.

Tanya Mitchell frantically called 911 to report a shooting-a shooting she committed. In an act of self-defense against her abusive husband who, at the time, was threatening to kill her, she did what she had to do to save her own life. From her reports, her husband was not only abusive, but that he gave men in his “motorcycle club” permission to gang rape her-while he watched. Specific example of his sadistic abuse include him telling her they were going to get married while holding her at gunpoint, making her play Russian roulette, and even trying to rip off her nails. Her attorneys were going to use Battered Woman Syndrome (to take her psychological health based off of her abuse) as a factor in the case but were not confident it would

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

To discuss the role of the battered women’s syndrome in relation to how characteristics of a victim affect legal decision-making it is important to define what battered women’s syndrome is. Battered women’s syndrome is the array of physical and

Most victimization coincides with size difference. The abusive men are taller than their counterpart by half a foot and are normally heavier than average. The women’s weight is normally less than average (Saunders 50). The man and woman have a big difference between their statures. A larger weight could suggest drinking or it could be from having more muscles. The man will probably be more aggressive either way and could inflict more damage on the women. Since the women weighed less than normal, they probably had an eating disorder and not very much muscle. “Women’s hardest punches did not hurt her partner, and …the man laughed in response” (Saunders 50). The difference is very big between the couple. While the women did not harm her husband, or the abuser, she could still be tried with husband abuse.

On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner within their lifetime. When judges come across domestic violence cases, they are often frowned upon. Because we live in a world there are huge double standards when it comes to domestic violence and our men are on the bad end of the deal. When a man commits domestic violence he is punished very harshly. But when a woman commits domestic violence she gets cheers, chuckles or is all too often ignored.

Lindsey also states that women who are low income and those who are unemployed tend to be the ones more affected by domestic violence (307). Furthermore, Muro and Mein state that Hispanic women tend to experience domestic violence in a high rate; culture plays a big part in violence against women. Lindsey explains that women from African American descents are more exposed to domestic violence than white women. Furthermore, Lindsey declares that wife battering is not taken as a serious situation because it is believed to be part of a marriage life (307). She also explains that domestic violence is not only physical, but also sexual and emotional abuse (307). According to Lindsey, back in history, the “rule of thumb” allowed men to “bit his wife if she answer back to him” (p 307). Furthermore, Lindsey declares that many women are being rape by their partners, but they do not report it because there is no way to prove it (307). She also states that domestic abuse is the main cause of injury in women in the United States (307). In addition, “one-third of all women who are murdered die in the hands of husbands and boyfriends” (307). As we can see, Domestic violence does not discriminate against culture or social status. Women from different ethnic groups experience domestic violence. For example, Few relate a case of a 43 year old Black woman who was beaten by her husband until her head was swollen. Few explains that this woman was afraid to die because she was unrecognizable by the beating her husband has done to her. She called the police, and was another woman who was able to escape from her abusive husband, but she end with some mental and physical

This began to change in the 1980s, as women’s groups were organized locally and internationally to demand attention to the physical, psychological, and economic abuse of women (p.369-370). Domestic violence is a serious social issue that happens to many women in our world today. This type of abuse is not declining but continually rising on a daily basis. There have been issues in the past with the way these cases were being handled. Today, there has been some improvement concerning the laws that have been enforced in order to protect women from this type of abuse. There has been extensive research done on this issue in the past concerning domestic violence. Over the last ten years there have been a number of surveys on domestic violence that have been published from around the world.

“Every year, in the United States there are over 3 million incidents of reported domestic violence. Every year, 4,000 victims of domestic violence are killed.” (Domestic Violence: Disturbing Facts about Domestic Violence). Domestic violence is a crime that is not just committed in the United States, but worldwide. This crime is committed every day, every hour, every minute, and every second. Anybody can be a victim or the abuser. This can happen to any child, man or woman. This is a horrific crime. Women are more likely to be the victim in domestic violence than men. “Forty-five percent of all violent attacks against female victims 12 years old and older by multiple

Violence against women is very risky and is often prolonged. Among those who do contact the police, some may decide not to file charges against the attacker for many reasons. Financial threat; fear of further violence; and fear of losing the children, their home, employment or family are just a few. (Bostock, 2009) The mental strain and fear of

On November 27th, 1976 Mr. Adams’ car ran out of fuel and he was forced to walk to the nearest gas station (Radelet, 2011). Shortly after this Mr. Adams was given a ride by local teenager David Ray Harris, who was driving a stolen vehicle. The two then spent the day together, even going to see a drive in movie. That night Mr. Adams returned to a motel where he was staying. Mr. Harris, now alone, was stopped by Officer Wood and his Partner Teresa Turko shortly after midnight. Officer Wood was shot and killed by Harris, who sped off too quickly for Officer Turko to get a plate number or a good look at the shooter. Directly after this Mr. Harris drove home and for the next few days, bragged to his friends that he offed a pig. Police questioned Harris upon learning of these statements. Harris however, feigned innocence, stating that he did not kill a cop and that he was just trying to impress his friends. Mr. Harris unfortunately pointed the finger at a hitchhiker that he had picked up, Mr. Adams. Police took Adams in for questioning, where he denied everything, but he did detail the events of the previous day. Mr. Adams was informed by the police that he had failed a lie detection test and that Harris had passed, but Adams still held that he was innocent. At this time the only actual evidence implicating Adams in the crime is the testimony that Harris gave to the police.

“Domestic violence is a type of abuse by one or both partners in marriage, friends, family, dating or cohabitation” (Aziz & Mahmoud, 2010). There are many forms of abuse from verbal and emotional to physical that often escalates over time in intensity for the victim. Data from the criminal justice system, hospital patient medical records and mental health records, police reports, surveys and social services reports of thousands of women revealed that many are injured and killed as a result of violence from someone close to them. “The US Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender” (Robertson & Murachver, 2009). Researchers and the criminal justice system have not been able to agree on a clear definition to domestic violence which can range from physical injury, stalking, verbal abuse and humiliation, denial of shelter and access to money, and intimidation through aggressive behaviors. The definition of domestic violence may vary but the results from physical injury, mental and emotional trauma, and sometimes even death can last a life time.

According to statistics found by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Every nine seconds a woman is abused by her husband or intimate partner. At least 1 in every 4 women and 1 in every 9 men have been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime. Most often the abuser is one of their own family. Domestic violence is a problem that somehow affects every one of us in this room at some time and is actually the leading cause of injury to women -- more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.

“Every year in the United States there are over 3 million incidents of domestic violence. That means that every nine seconds a women is beaten by her domestic partner” (Findeley). There are many women that stay silent when being abuse by their partners. The consequences of staying quiet when obtaining abuse can be dangerous and can also lead to death. Many women do not recognize the importance of the fact that there is in speaking out if they are being abuse by their partner. No woman should take domestic abuse by their partners. Every woman deserves a healthy relationship; A healthy relationship involves trust, respect, and consideration for the other person. Domestic abuse has gotten worse during the past years and is still rising up. One can see that domestic abuse can occur everywhere. Domestic abuse is considered a crime and woman should not keep silent when being abuse.

The subject of husband-battering had finally been addressed, but not to the great satisfaction of anyone. Although it had finally been shown that there was violence being perpetrated both by wives and husbands, there was no information about relative frequency or severity, or who initiated the abuse and who was acting in self defense. Furthermore, some researchers became concerned that the use of police or social services references in choosing subjects to study might be biasing the results. In short, they recognized that battered husbands might be nearly invisible next to their female counterparts.