Battered women who kill: The impact of expert testimony and empathy induction in the courtroom

Violence Against Women

Volumn 15, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 186-205

  Plumm, Karyn M ^a   Terrance, Cheryl A ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA   (United States)

Author keywords

Battered women; Empathy; Juror decision making

Indexed keywords

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; ARTICLE; BATTERED WOMAN; CRIMINAL LAW; EMPATHY; EXPERT WITNESS; FEMALE; HOMICIDE; HUMAN; LEGAL ASPECT; MALE; METHODOLOGY; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; QUESTIONNAIRE; SEX DIFFERENCE; SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT;

ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE; BATTERED WOMEN; CRIMINAL LAW; EMPATHY; EXPERT TESTIMONY; FEMALE; HOMICIDE; HUMANS; MALE; QUESTIONNAIRES; SEX FACTORS; SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT;

EID: 58149489631     PISSN: 10778012     EISSN: 15528448     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/1077801208329145     Document Type: Article

References (42)

1. American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4 th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
2. Archer, N. (1989). Battered women and the legal system: Past, present and future. Law and Psychology Review, 13, 145-163.
3. Archer, R.L., Foushee, H.C., & Davis, M.H. (1979). Emotional empathy in a courtroom simulation: A person-situation interaction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 9, 275-291.
4. Batson, C.D., Turk, C.L., Shaw, L.L., & Klein, T.R. (1995). Information function of empathic emotion: Learning that we value others' welfare. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 300-313.
5. Bornstein, B.H. (1999). The ecological validity of jury simulations: Is the jury still out ? Law and Human Behavior, 23, 75-91.
6. Bowker, L. (1993). A battered woman's problems are social, not psychological. In R. Gelles & D. Loseke (Eds.), Current controversies on family violence (pp. 154-165). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
7. Browne, A. (1987). When battered women kill. New York: Free Press.
8. Davis, M. (1996). Empathy: A social psychological approach. Boulder, CO: Westview.
9. Deitz, S.R., Blackwell, K.T., Daley, P.C., & Bentley, B.J. (1982). Measurement of empathy toward rape victims and rapists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 372-384.
10. Dressler, J. (1995). Understanding criminal law (2 nd ed.). New York: Matthew Bender / Irwin.
11. Dutton, M.A. (1993). Understanding women's responses to domestic violence: A redefinition of battered woman syndrome. Hofstra Law Review, 21, 1191-1242.
12. Faigman, D.L. (1986). The battered woman syndrome and self-defense: A legal and empirical dissent. Virginia Law Review, 72, 619-647.
13. Faigman, D.L., & Wright, A.J. (1997). The battered woman syndrome in the age of science. Arizona Law Review, 39, 67-115.
14. Finkel, N., Meister, K., & Lightfoot, D. (1991). The self-defense defense and community sentiment. Law and Human Behavior, 15, 585-602.
15. Follingstad, D., Polek, D., Hause, E., Deaton, L., Bulger, M., & Conway, Z. (1989). Factors predicting verdicts in cases where battered women kill their husbands. Law and Human Behavior, 13, 253-269.
16. Gillespie, C. (1989). Justifiable homicide. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
17. Gondolf, E.W., & Fisher, R.E. (1988). Battered women as survivors. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
18. Haegerich, T.M., & Bottoms, B.L. (2000). Empathy and jurors' decisions in patricide trials involving child sexual assault allegations. Law and Human Behavior, 24, 421-448.
19. Hirshel, J., Hutchison, I., & Dean, C. (1992). The failure of arrest to deter spouse abuse. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 29, 7-33.
20. Hoff, L.A. (1990). Battered women as survivors. London: Routledge.
21. Jenkins, P., & Davidson, B. (1990). Battered women in the criminal justice system: An analysis of gender stereotypes. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 8, 171-180.
22. Jones, E.E., & Nisbett, R.E. (1971). The actor and the observer: Divergent perceptions of the causes of behavior. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
23. Kasian, M.A., Spanos, N.P., Terrance, C.A., & Peebles, S. (1993). Battered women who kill: Jury simulation and legal defenses. Law and Human Behavior, 17, 289-312.
24. Mahoney, M. (1991). Legal images of battered women: Redefining the issue of separation. Michigan Law Review, 90, 1-94.
25. McCaul, K., Veltum, L., Boyechko, V., & Crawford, J. (1990). Understanding attributions of victim blame for rape: Sex, violence, and foreseeability. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20, 1-26.
26. Mehrabian, A., & Epstein, N. (1972). A measure of emotional empathy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40, 525-543.
27. Morris, C.G., & Maisto, A.A. (1999). Understanding psychology (4 th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
28. R. v. Lavallee, 55 C.C.C.(3d), 97(SCC) (1990).
29. Raitt, F., & Zeedyk, M.S. (2000). The implicit relation of psychology and the law: Women and syndrome evidence. London: Routledge.
30. Ross, L. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 174-221). New York: Academic Press.
31. Schneider, E.M. (2000). Battered women and feminist law-making. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
32. Schuller, R.A. (1992). The impact of battered woman syndrome evidence on jury decision processes. Law and Human Behavior, 16, 597-620.
33. Schuller, R., & Hastings, P. (1996). Trials of battered women who kill: The impact of alternative forms of expert evidence. Law and Human Behavior, 20, 167-187.
34. Schuller, R., & Rzepa, S. (2002). Expert testimony pertaining to battered woman syndrome: Its impact on jurors' decisions. Law and Human Behavior, 26, 655-673.
35. Sheehy, E., Stubbs, J., & Tolmie, J. (1992). Defending battered women on trial: The battered woman syndrome and its limitations. Criminal Law Journal, 16, 369-395.
36. Sherman, L., Smith, D., Schmidt, J., & Rogan, D. (1992). Crime, punishment and stake in conformity: Legal and informal control of domestic violence. American Sociological Review, 57, 680-690.
37. Terrance, C. (2000). Jury simulation: The construction of victims in the courtroom. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
38. Terrance, C., & Matheson, K. (2003). Undermining reasonableness: Expert testimony in a case involving a battered woman who kills. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27, 37-45.
39. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2000). Intimate partner violence. Retrieved December 8, 2002, from http://www.ojp. usdoj.gov/bjs
40. Walker, L. (1979). The battered woman. New York: Harper & Row.
41. Walker, L. (1984). The battered woman syndrome. New York: Springer.
42. Wispe, L. (1986). The distinction between sympathy and empathy: To call forth a concept, a word is needed. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 314-321.