[Dean's World] Trudy W. Schuett: Mary Winkler Case Only One of Many

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Trudy W. Schuett:
Mary Winkler Case Only One of Many
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1181389583.shtml


   Over at [1]Dr. Helen's blog, there's a discussion of the Mary Winkler
   case, which is the best known of the many recent cases where a woman
   killed her husband or intimate partner.

   There's an alarming trend in this country today. Men are being
   murdered, and the perpetrators -  their wives, girlfriends, or mothers
   - are getting away with light sentences, or even probation. In one
   case, an accused murderer was even allowed to change her name and
   serve her probation in another state.

   In each of these cases, it would appear that those prosecuting were
   driven by political concerns and a disingenuous belief  that their
   cases would prove to be anomalous, a one-time incident that was
   unlikely to ever happen again on their watch. Unfortunately, there
   have been four recent cases in the Desert Southwest alone, and more in
   other parts of the country. That would seem to disprove any notion of
   exclusivity, when it comes to women committing murder.

   Yet prosecutors continue to bend over backwards, often to the point of
   blaming the victim, his family, and everyone but the accused, to see
   that these crimes are not fully prosecuted. The only anomaly here is
   that in these cases, the defense and the prosecution cooperate to
   ensure the lightest sentence possible. There would be no sentence at
   all in most of these cases, but for the propensity of these women to
   confess to their crimes.

   Even the most politically paranoid officers of the court cannot
   pretend no crime has been committed, when there is an incident, duly
   reported by local media, of a death by other than natural causes.

   Ever since Francine Hughes killed her husband while he slept in 1977,
   there has been a growing reluctance to prosecute women who claim
   abuse. In those days, abused women had little or no help available to
   them, and in the case of Francine Hughes, her action was considered
   justifiable. That is no longer the case. Today there are as many as
   4000 shelters and programs nationwide, and help is only a phone call
   away. Yet women accused of murder, who use the abuse excuse, are
   rarely, if ever, asked why they did not access these services and
   chose to kill instead. 

   Because of the reluctance of prosecutors to pursue justice in favor of
   political expediency, we now have a situation where violent women are
   encouraged  to continue their behavior, knowing the authorities will
   turn a blind eye to any crime of violence they commit against a man.
   Amy Dugas, who killed her husband in Maine and was allowed to serve
   her probation in Tennessee, has subsequently been arrested for assault
   no fewer than three times. Here in Yuma, relatives of Bill Kirkham,
   killed last August, are concerned for their own safety once [2]his
   killer is released from jail in about two years. (One of those years
   to be served for an unrelated charge.)

   In both of these cases, the women had long histories of violence and
   drug abuse, with multiple prior arrests, yet when their behavior had
   progressed to killing, prosecutors refused to do their jobs of
   protecting the public. Had these habitual criminals been male, then
   they would have been put behind bars for many years, perhaps life.
   There is in fact, no record of any man being acquitted of murder
   because of a claim of spousal abuse.

   There is a clear double standard here that we can no longer ignore.
   Prosecuting crimes based on the sex of victim and accused is nothing
   more than bias, and has nothing to do with justice. Court officials
   who choose this path may be saving or advancing their careers, but
   meanwhile they leave the community at risk from violent predators who
   are no less dangerous because they are women.

References

   1. http://drhelen.blogspot.com/2007/06/what-210-whole-days-in-jail-just-for.html
   2. http://www.yumasun.com/news/Margo%20Kirkham_34370___article.html/death_plea%20agreement.html