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Stereotypes Against Battered Women

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Recommended: Critics of battered womens syndrome

One of the issues raised by the film was stereotypes against battered women. Most of the people interviewed were family members of Melvin who took his side. They represent the victim as someone nice and quiet who would not hurt anyone. They did not believe Shirley was being abused because of victim character as nice and quiet. They also give reasons such as there are no bruises on her face, they never saw them argue, and why didn 't she leave. These stereotypes are used against all battered women however, most abusers choose parts of body that are covered and no one can see and they are really nice around other people, but very cruel to their wife. Also, one of victim 's Sister in-law said there was a car and she could have left when he was away, but Shirley insist he chained her in the basement when he leaves. This stereotypes about battered women make Shirley and many other women who are battered not to press charges and when they do nobody believes them. …show more content…

The jurors who were interviewed said there was not enough evidence and if there was it would have change the verdict.Even though the defense of battered women was not acceptable back then if her attorney brought the information about her abuse, even if it might not completely change the outcome at least he could have used as mitigating circumstance. In addition the trial is held by a judge who confuse the battered women syndromes with self-defense. It looks like even if the information about her abuse presented and the battered woman syndrome defence can be used the judge misinterpretation about battered women syndrome would have affect the case and the judgment in negative

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In this case due to the very general nature of the battered woman syndrome given from the expert and Heather there was no error in the directions given to the jury. 3. Significance This particular case is quite significant as it raised a fair bit of awareness about domestic violence and violence against women. The use of ‘the battered woman syndrome’ as a defense linked to self-defense, and the publicity surrounding the case meant that the general Australian public was exposed to the issue. As a result of the case, a feminist activist group called “The Release Heather Osland Group” fought for the emancipation of Heather, any other women in a similar situation to her and a change in legislation making ‘the battered woman syndrome’ an legal defense.

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First she declared that the burden of proof was on the defendant. With a lack of solid evidence, the prosecutor attempted to then try and get the defendant to prove his defense since it was all based on accusations at that point. The defense was stating that it was all staged by the mother, who was suspected to be mentally ill. The prosecution denied that claim and said that the defense was arguing matters outside and unrelated to the case, when in fact it could have been related to the case as a solid defense. When the time came for the witnesses to be brought forward and testify, the prosecutor vouched for the witnesses.

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The pathologist identified bruises on Rust’s knuckles that were consistent with having hit Lavallee. Miller had the doctor “confirm that Battered Woman Syndrome is not a psychiatric term”(Sheehy, 2014, 22). One of Miller’s strategies was to get Lavallee to testify on grounds that if she did not, the defense would be “introducing medical and psychiatric evidence without an evidentiary foundation”(Sheehy, 2014, 33). Nonetheless, the judge decided Lavallee was not required to testify so Miller went on to persistently try to get Dr.Dirks to state that one emergency visit a year is normal. Miller continuously tried to suggest that Lavallee’s injuries could have been caused by anyone, not just Rust because her injuries were quite often ‘singular’.

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She also says that “every time he came home, I was afraid there would be a beating” and that “he beat [her] at least once a week, although sometimes often more than that”. This shows the commonness and regularity of the abuse. Although it could be helpful to show the jury the severity of the abuse, I would not pressure her to discuss it because it’s likely uncomfortable for her and she would obviously not want to talk about her abuse to strangers. She also can provide another element to battered woman syndrome in that Mr. Stephens would force isolation between Ms. Stephens and her family and friends. In her affidavit she explains that Mr. Stephens would not allow her to have anything to do with her family and even put a lock on the phone to prevent her from calling them.

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I think it would be difficult for the prosecution to form an argument off of my points. The prosecution admitted that they don’t argue that Ms. Stephens is a victim of abuse, but rather is not suffering from battered woman syndrome. Once I use all of my witnesses and explain how Ms. Stephens is a clear case of battered woman syndrome, I think they will have a difficult time arguing that considering she clearly has every sign and symptom. The only argument I think they can use would be that because Mr. Stephens went to take a nap, Ms. Stephens could have just called the police and not shot him herself. I think members of the jury may also agree with this purely on the basis that those who aren’t victims of abuse can easily have the mindset that

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The prosecution was trying to make is look like Jodi was the victim of an abusive relationship. The defence was trying to make it look like Jodi was a person who killed Travis out of jealousy and rage. The jury was very confused on what and who to believe when it can to the evidence that had been show. The evidence crime scene investigators gathered was substantial.

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In the case of Judy Norman should have been acquitted based on self-defense rather than being convicted of voluntary manslaughter. According to defense psychologist, Judy had been tortured, degraded, and reduced to an animal level of existence. Since her husband had abused her for twenty years physically assaulting her, burning her with cigarettes, forcing her into prostitution, and forcing her to eat dog food off the floor. Judy’s first resort was not to kill her husband, first, she contacted police after a horrible beating, but was so deep in a cycle of fear she did not press charges on her husband. For police officers to be first responders to domestic violence calls they should be trained to know the signs of domestic abuse, and the cycle

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I feel as if there may have been more to it than what she said in her trial, but who knows. Maybe she finally had enough of the racism and Dr. Adams and wanted him and everyone else to know it. I can’t help but wonder if this same case happened today, with different people, what the outcome would

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Her defense stated that her kid drowned, her father knew and was covering it up, and that her father had been touching her since she was a child. Casey was all over the place and it was clear as day that she responsible for the death of her child. With all the evidence the prosecution had to go off they in my mind didn’t have enough evidence to support their claims. In this case the police report wasn’t bad or not well written it was just that Casey’s telling to the police were lies. Each side present their cases and evidence and in the end it came to the jury to make the final decision.

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However, this story of Mrs. Stephens being helpless is all the defense has. But how can you, the jury, believe a story from a woman that would lie to doctors, to police,

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In this world today, there are many cases of police brutality going on right now. For some cases, police shouldn’t have acted the way that they did. There are multiple reasons for why police brutality occur and must be removed for it to occur less. Police brutality happens to all races, but the main race is African American people.

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Homicide, as a criminality, has a vast array of methods. Domestic homicide is a sub-class, yet it is one of the most customary categories of homicide throughout the world. This essay intends to find connections in relationships and homicidal tendencies in regards to both genders through specific traits adopted by biological backgrounds. Drawing from research entailing queries into why domestic homicide is the leading cause of manslaughter on a global scale. The characteristics of the basic psyche behind how these events occur can date back to the natural biological progression of the male and female predispositions.

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Hey Juni, police brutality is definitely a major issue in today 's society. After the whole Rodney King beating, the world finally got a small glimpse of the law enforcement taking advantage of their power. Police authority have gotten so out of hand, that some actually feel more feared around officers than protected. The stereotype that officers are racist to African Americans is also a popular topic, but I believe all races of people are being mistreated by the police. More attention should be put on how officers use their rights and power in the work field, and how they can disfuse and correct problems with at the least amount of violence as possible.

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In The Woman Warrior, Kingston uses simile to compare a pregnant Fa Mulan to a powerful man in order to show how she defies stereotypes and is strengthened by something which most would view as a hindrance. During Mulan's pregnancy, she marches with the foot soldiers and wears her bulky armor to appear as a robust and powerful man, and embrace her pregnancy. She uses her physical transformation during the last four months of her pregnancy in order to make herself appear stronger, which is demonstrated when she says, " I wore my armor altered so that I looked like a powerful, big man" (Kingston 39). Following the birth of her son, she immediately returns to battle with her son in a sling on her back, which she describes as, "At the back of

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