The Impact of Expert Testimony in Trials of Battered Women Who Kill

Abstract

Participants (N = 195) were presented with a criminal homicide trial involving a battered woman who had killed her abuser. Within the trial, the presence of expert testimony (battered woman syndrome, social/agency, no expert testimony) was systematically varied. Overall, participants, drawn from both Australia (n=99) and Canada (n=96), were more favourable to the woman’s claim of self-defence if they had been provided with expert testimony. The results indicated that, compared to the no expert control condition, the participants provided with expert testimony (either form) were more lenient in their verdict decisions, with this effect most pronounced for Canadian men and Australian women. Compared to the no expert control condition, the presence of the testimony, either form, also resulted in a belief that the woman’s options were far more limited. The implications of these findings are discussed.