Abstract
This study analyzes data collected from a Public Defender’s office in a Mid-Atlantic city, which represents females accused of homicide (N = 48) and defended between the years 1994-2011. Further, this study includes qualitative interviews of the Public Defenders who work in the Homicide Division of this jurisdiction and who defended the women accused of these murders in the courts. Results show that most cases involved intra-racial homicides of current or former intimate partners. Women who killed a boyfriend or husband and women who were diagnosed with battered woman syndrome (BWS) received lighter sentences. Interviews with Public Defenders highlighted the importance of the relationship between victims and offenders in the handling of homicide cases by the court.
Highlights
This study analyzes variation in the responses of the criminal justice system to cases of female perpetrated homicide
We argue that Donald Black’s propositions on the relationship between law and social distance can be used by feminist research to explain the sentencing patterns in intimate partner homicides overall, and homicides wherein battered woman’s syndrome may be an issue of importance in some way
For the 48 cases examined, 31% of the homicides occurred during a domestic violence incident, 23% occurred during the commission of another crime, 6% happened as a result of a drug induced rage, 8% were accessories to a homicide that somebody else committed, 13% occurred during an altercation, 6% occurred during an attempted sexual assault, 6% involved a mother killing her own child during the course of parenting, and 6% were random acts of violence
Summary
This study analyzes variation in the responses of the criminal justice system to cases of female perpetrated homicide. Sex, age, relationship to victim, background of abuse and psychological state of the perpetrator are the main variables used to explain the patterns of criminal court response. The awareness that female homicides are often rooted in a deeper victimhood has led to increased scrutiny of the response of the criminal justice system to such cases. We argue that Donald Black’s propositions on the relationship between law and social distance can be used by feminist research to explain the sentencing patterns in intimate partner homicides overall, and homicides wherein battered woman’s syndrome may be an issue of importance in some way
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