what do you think about women who kill there abusive! husbands in self defence. that have suffered long years of mental abuse and beating. do they deserve the same punishment as a killer..why are they ripped away from there children and there homes..and do you think it is right...should they not be treated a whole lot differently and shown some compassion. and should they no way have to serve long sentences?..have they not suffered enough already...

They deserve...to be treated like any other person thats killed in self defence, and to use all means available to them to put forward their best defence case, like every other person.

I have compassion for such instances, and they are not exclusive to women either there are battered men too, but i do feel that this is a situation thats come about by choice, in any relationship/situation the majority of us have the ability to walk away before its too late, before the years of abuse, before the kids, its well known that kids are better off coming from a broken family than living in one

so yes i think its right that they are tried and convicted and serve a sentence, they are not above the law, no one is, they are a number of defences and concessions built into the law that are available to them, im sure that most use these, just as they should have used the services available to them when a battered woman (and children) wants to leave abusive homes/husband/partners

I agree with Squirrel on this 150% Sure, I have sympathy for women (or men) in abusive relationships, but there are options before murder. Also, I would guess nine times out of ten, when a woman murders a man in this way it was indeed self defence at the time and she feared for her own life. I feel a judge better damn well take that into acount during sentencing.

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"Thats it then, they will go on double, secret, probation..."

I think that battered spouses should be treated leniently. In the UK there are refuges for people to go who are fleeing violence. One woman I know was in a refuge for quite a while with her 3 kids, one being a 3 month old baby. The problem was that she was in there with many other women and kids. People respond differently to abuse and some of the women that she was there with were quite aggresive as were the kids. She was terrified of upsetting any of them. After weeks of promises from her partner about how he couldnt live without her and would treat her and the kids good this time, home seemed a better prospect. She did eventually leave for good after another year.

Another thing that I have noticed is that when women have small children, they are so busy and tired from bringing them up that they sometimes do not have the energy to reflect on their circumstances and often do not realise just how badly they are being treated.Many women (and men)stay until the kids are older and by then one beating too many could tip them over the edge.

casa, i know someone who shot her husband infront of the children, in self defense. it came down to being either her or him.

no one will ever know what really happened but the people who knew them said that he was an incredibly abusive man and she always had bruises and marks on her body.

then you get those who say 'so leave him' etc but that's another story.

i think a lot of the women do not! leave because where do they go..what do they do for money.a lot of the overcrowded family units are just that.the women are at an all time low.they are battered and hurt and a lot of the women still love the man...and they just do not know which way too turn.yes sure they eventually killed the person concerned but no one knows what goes on behind closed doors.the years of mental and physical abuse when no one wanted to listen.. the keeping it all together for the sake of the kids..until we have walked in her shoes..how can we know. myself i think they should be treated a whole lot differently. than any other kind of murder ......they have just had enough..yes maybe they should have sought help .. but there is not a lot of help out there and what is. is taken..i think we need a lot more help for battered and abused women..

A lot of the time people (men and women) stay in an abusive relationship because...
they still love their partner
they are afraid to leave (for themselves and/or their children or even their partner ..."you leave me and I'll kill myself&quot
their confidence has been so undermined they do not believe there is another option or that anyone else would love them

Also their friends and family often do not see the abusive side of their partner. They only see the nice fun loving person, never the violent abusive side so they don't believe so and so is like that.

And yes, been there, been to A&E, had the bruises, had the stitches and got out. It isn't easy to walk. And there is definitely a stigma attached to men in an abusive relationship, especially if the abuser is a woman. A man is supposed to be able to take care of himself, But most men would not hit a woman back, so what do you do? In any conflict someone comes off worse. In my case it was me. Better the devil you know sometimes applies. My own advice to anyone in that situation would be to leave. Regardless of what your partner says, have the confidence and the self belief to look after yourself (and your children). They are the one that needs help, not you.

just my 2 penn'orth (.02c to our colonial cousins ;o) )

Chris ;o)

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A closed mouth gathers no foot...

yes wolvester, a lot of what you say is correct. and yes there are battered men too. it works both ways. and yes of course they still they still love there partner or husband/wife. who are we to tell them not too.i think to be honest with you in my opinion it knocks 10 kinds of sh... out of you.and al lot of it is shame.. how do i tell someone my partner is hitting me. where do i start. it must be an awful situation..a lot more help needs to go into it.and people have to stop saying i have no time for these people they need to just walk out. that is not so easy...

Sometimes i just find it hard to understand the way people think.....

When you committ unpremeditated MURDER in the precise moment you loose control, you end a life. So then why are there differences to be seen? why are there differences in the way you look at the crime and the person? It is done in the exact same way. You loose control for a split second. A person looses there life, someone looses a loved one.
I just think the end result is the same. Like i have said before.
It is like you can justify to yourself one crime over another, even if a life is lost in a split second. I hope you understand what i am trying to say.
I just see no difference, even though i do have an understanding as to what took place to get to that point.(spousal abuse)

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The last of all freedoms is the ability to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances.
G. W. Allport.

There is no need for man to hit women, we will married 30 years, yes we had out fights about things and we got upset with each other but I never even though about hitting her. She has been gone and I miss the way that she tell me things. " what did you do now" " why did you buy that" " you did what" " and what is this going to do" " why do you need all these tools" " you realy need another tool box" " OK make this work" I do miss her.