Never has there been a subject that has aroused as much discussions as spousal abuse. Indeed more than 10% of U.S. population is affected by spousal abuse according to the Center Disease Control. Spousal abuse can be defined as domestic violence in a relationship. One of the members of a couple is physically and/or psychologically violent with the other partner.
Our project talks about a husband that physically abuses in a repetitive way his wife, and so his wife kills him. The purpose of this paper is to show what can be the jury’s decision about it.
This paper will first describe the first possible decision: first degree murder. Then, turn to the second one: voluntary manslaughter. Finally we will see the not guilty decision.

The first possible decision of the jury is that this act is considered as a murder that is caused by premeditation. Indeed, the wife had other alternatives; she can complain and alert the police to intern her husband; she can put a stop to their marriage and begin a new life. The wife could find other solutions to stop spousal abuses.
The consequences of this decision are that the woman can be sentenced to a minimum of thirty years of prison or lifetime imprisonment.

The second decision is that this action is regarded as being a voluntary manslaughter. A voluntary manslaughter means that a person intentionally commits a crime. This kind of crime can be perpetrated in passion or during the heat of the moment. A case where a voluntary manslaughter is illustrated is Mary Winkler one, where the defendant has been sentenced for 3 to 6 years in prison rather than 60 years. However, she only spent 5 months incarcerated.

Finally, the jury’s verdict is that the woman was found not guilty because it is a justifiable homicide. The woman wanted to protect herself. It is also preferable to kill the husband because he can kill her during the aggression.

Spousal abuse crimes are not easy to judge because of the circumstances which they