Michael Weiss and Cathy Young

Battered woman syndrome has been used as trial evidence by women who claim that killing their husbands was the only way they could escape ongoing and life-threatening spousal abuse. In the following viewpoint, Michael Weiss and Cathy Young contend that “battering” has become so broadly defined that psychological abuse and neglect are now considered forms of spousal abuse. Because of this expanded definition of abuse, the authors argue, many women who murdered their husbands out of anger or revenge have received acquittals by using the battered-woman defense. Since previously established self- defense laws already protect defendants who kill to save their lives, battered woman syndrome should rarely be allowed as trial evidence, the authors conclude. Michael Weiss is a professor at the University of Houston Law Center and...