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Did defensive homicide in Victoria provide a safety net for battered women who kill? A case study analysis
Citation
King, C and Bartels, L and Eastal, P and Hopkins, A, Did defensive homicide in Victoria provide a safety net for battered women who kill? A case study analysis, Monash University Law Review, 42, (1) pp. 139-178. ISSN 0311-3140 (2016) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2016 Monash University
Official URL: http://www.monash.edu/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/...
Abstract
This article seeks to draw conclusions about the potential impact of the
Crimes Amendment (Abolition of Defensive Homicide) Act 2014 (Vic). We
do so by considering whether defensive homicide served as a safety net
in the 2014 case of Director of Public Prosecutions (Vic) v Williams. The
article presents a detailed analysis of the trial transcript and sentencing
remarks to support the contention that the defence did in fact achieve this
purpose. The conclusion rests, principally, upon understanding the jury
finding that Williams killed in the belief that her actions were necessary for
her own protection, but apparently determined that she had no reasonable
grounds for that belief (thereby failing the legal test of self-defence as
it then stood). Having looked at how the 2014 legislation also amended
relevant evidence laws, and reinforced jury directions to accommodate
considerations of family violence, we then consider the implications of
these reforms for battered women who kill. We suggest that, in the absence
of the offence of defensive homicide, women like Williams may in the future
be convicted of murder, even when they kill in response to family violence
and with a genuine belief that their actions are necessary in self-defence.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Research Division: | Law and Legal Studies |
Research Group: | Law in context |
Research Field: | Criminal law |
Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in law and legal studies |
UTAS Author: | Bartels, L (Ms Lorana Bartels) |
ID Code: | 114694 |
Year Published: | 2016 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 2 |
Deposited By: | Law |
Deposited On: | 2017-02-23 |
Last Modified: | 2017-10-18 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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