Jane is an abused wife who does not work and has no other means of income other than the income provided by her husband, John. John is an alcoholic who stops off at a local bar on the way home from work every night to unwind

Question

John always arrives home around 9:00 p.m. intoxicated from his nightly binge. As soon as he walks in the door he begins to beat his wife severely with personal weapons or anything available at that moment. John's beatings have put Jane in the hospital three times in the past six months. She has filed charges against John, but the courts continually put him on probation with mandated counseling. Jane knows that John is going to be exceptionally brutal on this specific night because they had a fight before he left for work. She decides she is not going to tolerate another beating from John. Jane meets John as he enters their home and greets him with a large, cast-iron skillet. The blow fractures John's skull and he crumples to the floor. Jane immediately calls 911 . John is rushed to the hospital. What defense may Jane rely upon to justify her actions? What if John dies? Will that same defense apply? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Elements of self-defense, batter syndrome defense, lawful use of force, the threat level from the perceived offender.