BATTERED WOMAN SYNDROME, EXPERT TESTIMONY, AND THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN JUSTIFICATION AND EXCUSE

Abstract

Robert Schopp and his coauthors, Barbara Sturgis and Megan Sullivan, discuss the practical effects and the viability of the battered woman syndrome as a support for self-defense. The authors detail the conflict inherent in demonstrating the "reasonableness" of the defendants' actions through the premise that she was psychologically impaired. They argue that current research on battered women does not show key characteristics posited by the theory. The authors conclude that, use of the syndrome to support a legal defense is misleading and may harm the credibility of women in their claims of self-defense.