Should Prolonged abuse or Battered wife syndrome be used as an excuse for a killing of the spouse?

I need points on this both positive and negative i jsut can quit grasp this and any help is appreciated thanks alot.Should Prolonged abuse or Battered wife syndrome be used as an excuse for a killing of the spouse?
Well it's not really an excuse...in some cases a battered woman feels her only way out of the situation is to kill or be killed. If she killed her husband out of self defense then who can blame her. Battered wife syndrome can also cause depression and temporary insanity.





Negative side: With all the battered women's shelters and hot-lines as well as all the other resources out there to get help, a woman has a choice to stay or leave. It's easier said then done but one phone call, one cry for help can save her life. But instead she might decide to take the law into her own hands which can result in premeditated murder. Should Prolonged abuse or Battered wife syndrome be used as an excuse for a killing of the spouse?
It really depends. I think you have to look at the total circumstance as well as the psychological condition of the victim of the abuse.





Also, length of time, type of abuse, techniques used by the abuser.... there are just too many factors.





Last, It is battered ';spouse'; syndrome - women beat their husband's almost as often as men beat their wives AND, for the obvious reasons, it gets reported at an even lower rate. No surprise there.






I know that prolonged abuse will help your case if you kill your spouse. Many abused women get lighter sentences.





I don't think anyone shouldn't go to jail at all for killing someone - after all, if you're a battered woman you could have just left him. You don't have to kill him.





But I think battered women should get lighter sentences. And often they do.
I'm sure if I would use the term ';excuse';. I believe that there are cases in which an abused person is so traumatized that they take the action they feel necessary to save thier own lives. But I'm not prepared to say it's right or wrong/good or bad. I've never experienced anything like it, so I have no right to judge.
yes. other more ridiculous reasons are used.
There's never an excuse, but some women snap.
Hell no! Not when your capable of walking away from it! There are shelters.