Is killing in self defense ever justified between a husband and wife?

Question

For instance, many times women who kill their husbands in self defense are tried for murder when there has been a history of domestic violence and even being beaten at the time of the killing. Do you think these women have a right to self defense like anyone else? Or do you think there should be other laws that govern killing in marriage?

The reason I ask is because my friend died because her husband was turned loose by a judge after beating her for years. She finally left him and he went to her home got in and shot her to death in front of her 15 year old son. I wonder if she would have killed him if she would have been in prison now or if a male judge and DA would have thrown the book at her? It looks like if you are married and a woman you loose your right to self defense? I am not saying this does not happen to men also. It seems as though the law does not give women the same rights as men.

Answer 1

YES, women in a Marital Situation, where their Husband or Spouse or Partner are DIRECTLY Threatening their lives, HAVE the right to DEFEND themselves -- and that is for sure.

There is NO Excuses here - - but in reality -- the Judicial environment and the Laws are NOT up to speed on the problems and situation of Domestic Violence in the home -- I know in my area the judge here thinks it is "NOT A PROBLEM or THREAT" -- and he (NOTE the MALE term -- yes HE) just goes on to let another Domestic Violence Victim be without any help -- because he does NOT support the filing nor provide ANY form of Legal Paperwork which would definitely give the Domestic Violence Survivor some protection against their abuser.

Sadly, Domestic Violence is still seen as a "joke" by judges like this -- and there are many in the US. The Laws also have not kept up with the REALITY of domestic violence -- allowing the Abusers to Victimize, re-victimize, and re-re-victimize their survivor --

And oops -- if the Abuser kills their Victim -- OH, WELL ... it is at that point that the Police, the Judge, and all Law Enforcement and other support services comes CRAWLING out of the woodwork and state "Gee ... if ONLY we had been Informed ..." --

Well, the VICTIM DID INFORM the Judge, the Police, the Law Enforcement and Support agencies -- MANY TIMES (once, twice, three, more times) -- and EACH AND EVERY TIME the Judge, the Police, the Law Enforcement and Support Agencies TURNED their BACKS on the Victims of Domestic Violence.

Answer 2

There is no blanket answer to your question as each case is different, however, speaking in generalties if a pperson is in fear of his/her own life or serious physical injury then the use of deadly force is permissable. Alabama has recently passed a new law which broadens the citizens ability to use deadly force. Prior to the law going into effect, deadly force had to be ones last means of escape. Now, an intruder can be shot, someone attempting to car jack you can be shot, a person who is in violation of a protection from abuse order who is attempting to break into a home to gain access to the pettitioner can be shot and if the case is deemed to be self-defense not only can the citizen not be prosecuted but they can not be held liable in a civil action. But regardless of any law, I'd rather take my chances with a jury of 12 than just sit there and allow someone to kill me!

Answer 3

Sounds like somebody wants to kill her husband and get away with it : ) Of course there is something you haven't thought about. When your husband ends up dead, the police are going to take your computer and have a professional go through your hard drive and find out that you did research on the internet to find out how you can kill your husband and claim it was self-defense. Oops!

Answer 4

What other law could there be....same principle as being attacked and beaten on the street, ur going to defend urself however u can, afterall, its ur life or his. Marriage doesn`t give the right to beat or be beaten by a spouse, so, of course it`s self-defense.

Answer 5

There is such a thing as battered woman syndrome. It has been used in Court and is considered a valid defense if it can be proven. It was introduced as a defense in the late 70's and has been being used ever since. It is a pretty interesting topic to research and resources on it are plentiful.

Answer 6

Women throughout the USA are having their sentences commuted thanks to the battered spouse syndrome. If the spouse was in a severe abusive relationship and was in a situation where killing the abusive spouse was the only way out - the battered spouse defense is applicable. The years spent in prison do not wipe away the conviction for first degree murder but the women walked out of jail free to begin new lives without abusive partners.

Answer 7

In order for a killing to be considered self defense, the victim must be in the act of trying to kill the accused, & the accused must have no other viable option.
I'm not saying that I necessarilly agree with this, just that it is the law.

Answer 8

No. It is actually very rare for either spouse to kill the other "in self defense". The dirty little secret about domestic abuse is that women are just as likely to be the abuser and far more likely to use weapons. Women who kill their husbands are almost never doing it in self-defense. They are murderers. The system looks at the evidence and punishes them accordingly.

It is very popular to claim self-defense as a part of preventing abuse. This never has merit. Indeed, the criminal who killed her husband is usually the abuser and usually has a history of hurting her husband and children before she works herself up to murder. After the fact, she claims abuse to try and avoid going to jail. However, these are almost always found out. To date, only a handful of true self defense cases like this exist. And they NEVER involve history of abuse but rather immediate threat of being killed. In other words, the man goes after the wife with a knife (note that it is FAR more common for it to be the WOMAN who goes after the MAN with knife) and she pulls out a pistol and shoots him. That is a self defense case. That other crap you are talking about is a trick used to try and get murderers off the hook. Juries and judges don't fall for it though. The reason is there is almost always a long history of the woman being abusive and making terrorist threats before she commits murder.

Answer 9

EVERYONE has the right to self defense (even in the UK).

But you always have to examine the murder angle. You can't just take someones word for it. The question is, was deadly force
justified.....

Answer 10

Self-defense is justified, though I think the situation should be taken care of before it gets to that point... These things rarely happen overnight.