HIST 3850 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Florence Bird, Grievous Bodily Harm, Linda Gordon
2 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Lecture: killing in self-defence: spousal abuse and battered woman"s syndrome. Law requires that you are in fear, and that if you do not kill your attacker, you will be killed by your attacker. Courts must be satisfied that your actions were the right choice. Killing in self-defence as the absolute last resort. Killed her husband by shooting him at the back of the head. Verdict was overturned by the majority because of the inadmissibility of witness testimony. Question of why lavallee stayed in an abusive relationship. Psychiatrist testified that lavallee had battered woman"s syndrome, and so she could not leave the relationship. Three stages: name-calling; some physical abuse, severe physical abuse, offender apologizes, cycle begins again; if cycle happens more than once, then woman is defined as a battered woman. Abuse asserts power and hostility over his submissive partner. The woman develops an unrealistic belief that her husband loves her and would never actually hurt her.
