The Scissors

The Defendant and her husband had been married for seven years, during which time her husband periodically assaulted the Defendant — sometimes as often as once a week when he was drunk. On May 24, 1980, a dispute arose over money for groceries. Her husband attacked the Defendant in public on the street. Bystanders separated them. The Defendant felt she was "passing out" from her husband choking her. After the two were separated, the Defendant went to look for her daughter, who had been present. When she found her daughter and recovered her dropped pocketbook, the Defendant looked up and saw her husband running back toward her with his arms raised. She was unsure whether he had armed himself during the separation. Believing he was coming to kill her, she reached into her pocketbook, drew a pair of scissors, tried to scare him off, and instead stabbed him. Her husband died shortly thereafter at a nearby hospital. The Defendant was indicted for murder. At trial, she claimed self-defence. She sought to introduce the testimony of a psychologist, an expert on battered woman syndrome, to explain why she feared her husband was going to kill her and why her fear was reasonable. The trial Court excluded this expert testimony as inadmissible. The trial proceeded without the expert testimony, on a charge of reckless manslaughter — a lesser included offence of murder.