She knocks him unconscious with a frying pan and shoots him. SHOULD SHE BE CHARGED WITH MURDER?
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Alot of people say "She could have just left instead of killing him." But my argument to that is, Why? So he can go abuse SOMEONE ELSE? If she reported him, he'd get a few years, MAYBE. Then he'd be back out.

Better to get rid of the Earth's filth. They aren't hard enough on abusers. It's very,very, sad.

BTW, this wasn't made up. This happened to a woman my mom worked with. She wasn't convicted!!! Yay.

By the letter of the law, she would probably be charged with murder. Although being convicted of it is another story altogether.

Yeah probably not, but what she did was definitely wrong :/ It would have been different if he had attacked her and then she shot him - but he was already unconscious.
Seeing what he did to her I totally understand her reaction though and every court has to consider that.

So he can go abuse SOMEONE ELSE? If she reported him, he'd get a few years, MAYBE. Then he'd be back out.

Better to get rid of the Earth's filth. They aren't hard enough on abusers. It's very,very, sad.
-> Yeah, but you can't take the law in your own hands. Imagine what would happen if everyone would do that.

A man-slaughter charge might be in order here, but if it was pre-meditated, that is technically murder. She would probably get a lot of sympathy so her punishment wouldn't be very much, but imo, taking another human life is never justified.

She should have taken him to court. There was obviously enough evidence, since she had facial reconstruction. And you say that when he gets out of prison he'd just abuse people again? I'm not defending him in any way, but who are you to condemn a man like that? To punish him forever, not giving him the possibility that he could ever change.

The difference is acting in the name of justice, or revenge. Shooting him was revenge. Motivated by emotion, not logic and fairness. Obviously all abusers are disgusting people who deserve to be punished severely, but personally I feel that to kill, to take another human life, is one of the worst things you can do.

I agree with Jillywinkles. She said everything I would have said...

Well.... i don't think she should be charged but she probably would be.

Well I don't think she should be charged at all, and I'm taking this seriously if this story was based on a true, living being.

From looking at the events Aggie_Babee has told us about, I believe it was still self-defense, whether this man attacked his wife or not. If she was so severely injured that she needed plastic surgery on her face, she had every right to do what she had to do to protect her life and her children's lives. The outcome was the right one, no conviction for murder.

Also, Aggie_Babee has a point, Jillywinkles. No, it is not right to take the law into your own hands, and the world would be in chaos if it were that way. But this was clearly an exception, the woman was being viciously battered and her children were being abused as well. If she did leave him and let this cycle happen with another innocent woman and her children, I personally think that would be the wrong mistake (unless she went to the police and had him arrested, I admit).

But overrall, I just want to say that she shouldn't have been convicted and the court made the absolute right decision :)

Aggie_Babee, let your mom's friend and her children know that I (my name is Ciera) wish them the best of luck and I'll be thinking about them!

-xo

Hm... I don't know how to answer this question. I can't decide if a murder charge would stick, or if voluntary manslaughter would be more applicable.

Either way, my friends, she would be charged with a criminal offense (regardless, as astroasis pointed out, of whether or not she was convicted). That's why I had to answer yes-- because once again, this is a legal question, not a moral one. This strikes me more as a provocation/imperfect self defense case, in which case voluntary manslaughter may be more appropriate than a murder charge.

If she was tried for murder, I can understand why she wouldn't be convicted. The charge of murder doesn't seem to fit the crime. Although, it could be considered a justifiable homicide case. That would be an interesting jury to sit on.

For more information on the legal definitions of murder and manslaughter, please link.

I can't say that I know everything about this, so all I can give is an opinion on what Aggie_Babee wrote, but I'd say the same as Jillywinkles. To actually end someones life is an irrevocable act, I can understand why this woman would do what she did but that she would be able to just walk away like nothing...
Who knows, if this man had been sent away for a while and then with sessions in anger management or something, then he might have been different.

i agree with jillywinkles. she could of left but this is a really tough question.

screw the damn law! Plus people say she should have left I know someone who went through something like that and it took her forever to leave him.

I think that the woman was totally and utterly right in all her actions and i just wish my friend would do the same.

I agree with Aggie_Babee. Get rid of the scum of the earth. She had every right to kill him. I would have done the same. sometimes murder is justified.