Reputation and behavior of battered women who kill their partners: Do these variables negate self-defense?

Vignettes describing a case in which a battered woman killed her husband were presented to college students. Independent variables were the presence or absence of verbal aggression by the woman toward her husband before the final beating, the woman's reputation and social desirability as a wife and mother, and whether or not a weapon was present when the battering husband threatened the woman before she killed him. After reading a vignette, subjects (N=413) selected a verdict, reported what influenced their verdicts, and completed attitudinal measures on sex-role attitudes, attitudes toward wife-beating, and “just world” attitudes. The presence of verbal aggression by the woman increased the odds of subjects choosing a guilty verdict by 1.71 times compared to the absence of verbal aggression. A defendant characterized as a “bad” wife/mother or a dysfunctional wife/mother was, respectively, 6.24 and 2.49 times more likely to be found guilty rather than not guilty by reason of self-defense (NGRSD) than the “good” wife/mother. Use of a weapon by the husband did not significantly increase the number of NGRSD verdicts over conditions in which no weapon was present. Neither subjects' attitudes nor demographics appeared to be related to their choice of verdicts.     

Justification, perception of severity and harm, and criminalization of wife abuse in the Palestinian society

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Palestinian adults toward different dimensions of wife abuse. A cross-sectional survey, using a combination of self-administered questionnaires and interviews, was conducted among a systematic random sample of 624 adult Palestinian men and women from the West Bank and Gaza Strip (18 years or older). Study results indicated a strong tendency to justify wife beating in different situations, such as when the wife is perceived as having an affair with another man or as physically attacking her husband. Participants considered the following acts of husband's violence against wife as most severe: using a weapon (86%), having sex with the wife against her will (67%), and hitting her with his fist (57%). The majority of participants thought that wife beating should be considered a crime (82.3%). Traditional marital role expectations was the main significant predictor for all of the study criterion variables. Gender, place of residence, age, and marital status were significant predictors of some of the criterion variables.     

An Illicit Love Affair During the Third Reich: Who is My Grandfather?*

More than 60 years after an illicit love affair had occurred between Erika H, wife of a Wehrmacht soldier, and a Polish slave worker during World War II, we could clarify the blood relationships of her daughter Uta. When Erika H had become pregnant both of the men could have fathered the child. Erika H was found guilty of fraternization and imprisoned at Ravensbrück concentration camp. She gave birth to Uta and died there in 1944. Uta survived the war as did Erika's husband Gustav, who accepted Uta as his child. Blood samples from family members were taken and DNA extracted. A panel of 16 short tandem repeat (STR) loci were amplified and separated by capillary electrophoresis and the likelihoods calculated using the MLINK software. The combined genotypes yielded a cumulative likelihood ratio of over 200,000 against paternity of Gustav H. This case serves to illustrate the utility of STR profiles for complex deficiency kinship analysis.     

Abortion laws and medical developments: a medico-legal anomaly in Queensland

In October 2010 the District Court sitting in Cairns, Queensland, found Tegan Leach not guilty of attempting to procure her own abortion and Sergie Brennan not guilty of supplying Leach with the drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol to procure an abortion. Brennan obtained the drugs from his sister in the Ukraine through the regular postal system. R v Brennan and Leach was the first case in Queensland's history where a woman was charged with procuring her own abortion. The drugs are accepted by the medical profession worldwide for medical abortions. A prosecution witness gave evidence that Mifepristone is not harmful or injurious to the health of a woman and it is listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation and approved for use by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration. The jury found the defendants not guilty because they were not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the combination of the drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol was a "noxious" substance under the Criminal Code (Old). This article concludes that there is no regulatory miracle which will stop the traffic of Mifepristone and Misoprostol into Australia and therefore an intelligent regulatory response is required which would make it unnecessary for women to seek Mifepristone and Misoprostol from overseas networks and the internet. Among other things, this would include the repeal of confusing, inappropriate and ineffective abortion laws.     

Immunohistochemical analysis of forensic evidence from a double homicide

We report the use of immunohistochemical staining for analysis of forensic evidence from a double homicide. A 38-year-old woman and her 7-year-old daughter were murdered by multiple blows to the head and face with a tomahawk, resulting in multiple fragments of brain tissue scattered about the murder scene. The victims' husband and father was the main suspect, who maintained that he was out of town on business during the evening of the murders. However, a shirt taken from the suspect's car on the morning after the murders (secured by the police before the suspect visited the murder scene) was found to have two small stains. DNA analysis on the stains showed the presence of the deceased wife's DNA, and immunohistochemical stains on shirt fragments conclusively documented the presence of deep central nervous system tissue, providing the critical piece of evidence needed to arrest and prosecute the suspect. This report demonstrates that shirt or similar cloth fragments can be processed into paraffin blocks and subsequently immunostained to search for and classify types of tissue fragments that may be present on the fabric.     

Effects of Judicial Instructions and Case Characteristics in a Mock Jury Trial of Battered Women Who Kill

This study examined the effects of judicial instructions on the outcome of a mock jury trial that involved a woman who pleaded self-defense after killing her abusive spouse. Jurors were instructed to adopt either an objective or a subjective standard of reasonableness when reaching a verdict. Within objective/subjective instruction conditions, half of the juries viewed a case in which the woman killed her abuser while he was attacking her (confrontational) and the remaining half viewed a case in which she killed him while he was asleep (no confrontation). Juries in the subjective conditions returned significantly more not guilty verdicts than jurors in the objective conditions. At the individual juror level, participants hearing subjective instructions were significantly more likely to rate the defendant as not guilty than jurors given objective instructions when the abuse was nonconfrontational.     

Arsenic poisoning: acute or chronic? Suicide or murder?

The case of the death by arsenic poisoning of a 62-year-old white man is presented. One year prior to death, he developed intermittent bouts of severe gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhea, hyperpigmentation and keratosis of the skin, neutropenia, and Guillain-Barré-like neuropathy for which he was hospitalized several times. Urine test results 6 months prior to death indicating 36 mg/L arsenic were believed to be in error. At the patient's last admission, he appeared in the emergency room with severe gastroenteritis, hypotension, and dehydration. He died 3 days later. Antemortem as well as autopsy specimens revealed elevated arsenic concentrations. Arsenic micrograms/g analysis by neutron activation of hair pulled from the man's head revealed by centimeter segmental analysis proximal to distal: 226, 104, 28, 56, 41, 40, and 74. The wife of the decedent was charged with murder by arsenic poisoning of this, her fifth, husband. The defense alleged that the decedent had committed suicide. The judge awarded a directed verdict of "not guilty." Particulars of the medical, toxicological, and investigative findings are presented.     

Filicide, attempted filicide, and psychotic disorders

The objective of the study was to describe and discuss the cases of two women who faced criminal charges, one for attempting to murder her three children and the other for killing her 1-year-old boy. After a forensic psychiatric assessment of their level of criminal responsibility, these patients were considered not guilty by reason of insanity and were committed to forensic mental hospitals. These two patients received a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. In both cases, psychotic symptoms were present before the manifestation of violent behavior, in the form of persecutory delusions, auditory hallucinations, and pathological impulsivity. The investigation into cases of filicide may contribute powerfully to expand our understanding of motivational factors underlying this phenomenon and enhance the odds for effective prevention.     

Attitudes of Jordanian society toward wife abuse

The authors conducted an exploratory study among a convenience sample of 260 Jordanian men and women, using self-administered open and closed questions to examine the participants' approach toward wife abuse. In general, there was high awareness of wife abuse and the different types of abuse (mainly physical and psychological), a general tendency to oppose wife abuse, a tendency to blame the victim for abuse, and a lesser tendency to blame the abuse on the husband, marital problems, as well as familial and societal conditions. There was also a strong tendency to consider wife abuse a personal and familial issue rather than a social and legal problem. Therefore, the preferred method for coping with wife abuse and violence was the expectation that the abused wife should change her behavior and assume responsibility to change her husband followed by resorting to informal agents (family or community or religious figures). Less preferred coping methods included confronting the husband and expressing desire to break up or separate and resorting to formal agents (social welfare programs, counseling, legal system), as a last resort in cases of repeated abuse and severe physical violence. The implications of these findings for future research, interventions, and policy formulation are discussed.     

The relationship between verdict, defendant characteristics, and type of crime in sex-related criminal cases

In an earlier study, we unexpectedly found that defendants charged with sex crimes were four times less likely to be convicted than were all other defendants. We now report that failure to convict for rape was associated with failure to come to trial and that minor sex crimes were tried, but often continued without a finding, even when the judge found sufficient facts to make a guilty finding. Whether a minor crime involved a victim and whether the defendant has a criminal record both relate to verdict, but psychiatric history did not. The implications for understanding "acquittal of the guilty" are discussed.     

Spousal homicide and the subsequent staging of a sexual homicide at a distant location

The case of a 63-year-old man who killed his 52-year-old wife and then staged a sexual homicide at a distant location is reported. A review of all evidence, a forensic psychological interview, and psychological testing indicated that the murder was the result of a narcissistic rage reaction during which the subject beat his wife to death with a paint can, a clothing iron, and a rock. He then drove her body to a field 87.3 miles away, and positioned it in a manner that exposed her breasts and her underwear. He turned himself into the police two days later. There is no controlled empirical research on staging, although this single case supports the criminal investigative theory that staging exists, and is done to deliberately mislead homicide investigations (Douglas et al., 1992).     

Factors predicting verdicts in cases where battered women kill their husbands

This study tested factors influencing verdicts in legal cases involving battered women who kill their husbands. A total of 388 college students (213 females and 175 males) read a fictitious but prototypical legal case. Subjects received one of three stories varying the level of force used by the husband against the wife before she killed him. Half of the subjects received courtroom testimony regarding the Battered Woman Syndrome. One-half received judge's instructions ofnot guilty by reason of selfdefense (NGRSD), and the other half receivednot guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) instructions. Subjects decided on a verdict and completed a questionnaire including demographics, reasons for their verdicts, and relevant attitudinal measures. Judge's instructions were most predictive of verdicts, with NGRSD being more likely to produce not guilty verdicts. Verdicts were also influenced by the subject's view of the severity of the past beatings, the testimony of the expert witness, the subject's feelings about the woman using a weapon, race of the subject, the subject's own history of abuse, attitudes toward abuse in relationships, and the subject's belief that people are responsible even if provoked. The preference the subjects showed for NGRSD belies the commonly held belief that impaired mental defenses in these cases would be more likely to yield not guilty verdicts. Situational aspects of the case rather than long-standing attitudes of subjects appeared to be better predictors of verdicts.     

Tragedy at Tunnel 13. The d'Autremont brothers and "The Edison of Crime Detection"

Train robbery was frequent in the United States from the late 1800s through the 1920s. On October 11, 1923, the southbound Southern Pacific Express was halted by three men at Tunnel 13 in southern Oregon just north of the California line. The railway mail car carrying +40,000 was then blown apart by an explosive charge, killing the clerk and rendering the money unobtainable. The men shot three other train crew members before escaping into the mountains. The investigation was headed by Chief Agent Dan O'Connell, who soon asked that California criminalist, Edward Heinrich, examine soiled overalls found nearby. Using primarily botanical evidence, Heinrich identified them as those of a woodsman, leading to the identification of three Oregon d'Autremont brothers as suspects. After an intensive manhunt, one was captured 3 years later in the Philippines and was tried and found guilty. The twins, captured in Ohio, then pleaded guilty. This crime, typical of those in which unforeseen events lead the perpetrators to panic and to murder, helped to establish criminology and particularly botanical studies as valid scientific disciplines. Its investigation and solution also remain models of scientific crime detection.     

Fictitious ambush following an attempted "extended" suicide

An unusual case of a 31-year-old-woman who was found near a forest road with self-inflicted injuries and burns is reported. The woman claimed to have been attacked by a man with a knife who then tried to burn her in her car. While she managed to escape, her cat died in the car. The examination of the wounds showed multiple superficial cuts in body regions easily accessible to her own hand. Gas chromatography of skin samples from the cat proved that it had been in in contact with a fire accelerant. On the basis of the examination findings, differential diagnostic aspects with regard to the motivation of the woman for simulating an offence are discussed. In all probability, the woman intended to commit suicide together with the cat through self-immolation, but did not complete the plan.     

Full term normal delivery following suicidal hanging

A 23-year-old woman was found hanging from the ceiling of her house by the neighbours. A live healthy male newborn baby was found lying on the ground with the umbilical cord in situ and placenta inside the uterus. The woman, a primigravida, married 3 years back, was in labour since morning. Her husband had gone out to call for some help to conduct delivery. During the absence of her husband, the wife bolted the door from inside and committed suicide by hanging. During this process she delivered a healthy male baby. This may be the first documentation of a pregnant woman delivering a healthy baby successfully, following suicide by hanging.     

Beliefs of Sri Lankan medical students about wife beating

The article presents the results of a study on beliefs about wife beating conducted among 476 Sri Lankan medical students. Participants fill out a self-administered questionnaire, which examines six beliefs about wife beating. Most students tend to justify wife beating, to believe women benefit from wife beating, and to believe the wife bears more responsibility than the husband for violence against her. At the same time, most participants express willingness to help battered women. However, the vast majority oppose divorce as a solution to wife beating and are against punishing violent husbands. The results also reveal that a significant amount of the variance in each of the six beliefs are best explained by the students' patriarchal approach toward women and marriage and by their exposure to violence in their families of origin. The implications of the results for future research and theory development on beliefs about wife beating are discussed.     

Defendants pleading insanity: an analysis of outcome

The authors examined the cohort of all defendants pleading not guilty by reason of insanity over a 12-month period in Baltimore City's superior trial court. During that time, 143 of the 11,497 defendants indicted (1.2%) pled not criminally responsible. Fourteen of those defendants (10%) were subsequently found not guilty by reason of insanity. The authors found marked agreement between the prosecution and defense with only two cases leading to full trials where the issue of insanity was argued. The evaluating physician's opinion as to criminal responsibility and Axis I diagnosis, and the most serious underlying charge discriminated between those defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity and those defendants found guilty or not guilty by the court. Other demographic factors such as age, number of dependents, educational level, severity of illness, and criminal background did not discriminate between the two groups.     

Implicit theories of criminal responsibility

Three questions relevant to insanity decisions were examined: (a) What informational cues are weighed most heavily in the attribution of criminal responsibility? (b) How do verdict forms influence these attributions? And (c) How do individuals' beliefs about insanity and responsibility influence decision making? Undergraduate subjects (n=181) responded to vignettes portraying an act by a mentally disordered defendant. Psychiatric jargon was avoided, so that attributions were not a function of diagnostic terminology. It was found that, under the traditional scheme of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) vs. guilty, level of mental disorder (schizophrenia vs. personality disorder) was the primary determinant of insanity decisions. Also, insanity judgments were more likely to be made for acts performed without planful intentionality. Under the alternative scheme of NGRI vs. guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) vs. guilty, mental disorder still controlled NGRI verdicts; a bizarre act increased the likelihood of a GBMI over a guilty verdict; and the GBMI verdict option reduced markedly the proportion of psychotic defendants found NGRI and the proportion of personality disordered defendants found guilty. There were no significant differences between diagnostic groups in the likelihood of being found GBMI. Most subjects preferred to utilize the GBMI option as a compromise verdict even in the face of very severe mental illness. Attitudinal data revealed considerable variation in agreement with the classic moral logic of the insanity defense and accounted for a significant amount of the variance in insanity decisions. The implications for both social policy and future research are discussed.     

A homicide in the Ukraine: DNA-based identification of a boiled, skeletonized, and varnished human skull, and of bone fragments found in a fireplace.

In an apartment, bone fragments were found in a fireplace. Furthermore, a varnished skull was found elsewhere in the same apartment. The tenant confessed to a murder and stated that the head of a victim, a girl, was boiled for 12 hours. He stated that the soft tissue was then removed and the skull was varnished. Other parts of the body were burned to ashes in an open field. Comparison of loci D19S252, CD4, CYAR04, TII01, F13A01, F13B, and D6S366 from the skull and the bone remains to loci of the mother of a missing girl showed that the skull came from that missing child. Biological maternity was calculated as 99.99%. The bone pieces were DNA typed as male and did not share alleles with the mother in several systems. Therefore, they belonged to a different (human) victim.