Australia: Warning over Susan Falls acquittal: 'It's not open season on abusive husbands'

Submitted by anthony on Thu, 2010-06-03 18:13

Article here. Excerpt:

'THE acquittal of a woman who shot and killed her violent husband should not signify "open season" on abusive partners, a lawyer who heads a women's prisoner support group said yesterday.

The comment came after a jury took only 90 minutes to find Susan Falls, 42, not guilty of murdering her husband Rodney, 41, at their Caloundra home in May 2006.

Ms Falls was also cleared of manslaughter.

The former Sunshine Coast woman admitted killing her husband but claimed she did so in self-defence after suffering more than 20 years of violent abuse.

Lawyer Debbie Kilroy, founder of women prisoner support group Sisters Inside, said the verdicts should not encourage the public to take the law into their own hands.

"This does not mean 'open season'," Ms Kilroy said.

"I think (the Falls verdict) is a message to all battered women and victims of serious domestic violence that there is justice in the legal system," she said.
...
Ms Falls' family and supporters sobbed with joy when the verdict was read out while Rodneys Falls' family - including sister Kym Page - stormed out of the courtroom.

Outside court Ms Page said: "Why doesn't every man and woman just go out and (kill) their husbands?"'

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Comments

... successfully argue that you *felt* you needed to kill them. And witnesses need not be needed. Remember all that it takes is the reporting that you are a DV victim to be one. Then you need to say you feel threatened enough to kill him. That's it.

I am reminded that there are countries in the world where it is legal for a man to murder his wife upon suspicion of infidelity. He need not have any proof. Oh, he may face censure among the people he knows, even become a virtual outcast from his family and lose his friends, but the law can't (or, won't) prosecute him. Such countries are rightly the topic of scrutiny for human rights activists, so I wonder, why are not countries like ours equally so?

Ah-duh, that's right! I forgot! It's not a problem if it doesn't affect women or girls! Silly me!

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Submitted by Matt on Fri, 2010-06-04 02:44

Los Misandry

"Beneath the facade of domestic violence law, exists an anti-male bias that destroys innocent men. "Los Misandry" is a slide show/video parody about modern domestic violence laws and the taxpayer funded, domestic violence industry that often follows gender-feminist, political ideology more than, the... Constitution and other... laws."

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Submitted by MR on Fri, 2010-06-04 16:11

....you murder your husband and as Mary Winkler knows, you can use such ridiculous claims as 'he made me wear high heeled boots and a wig during sex' as evidence to support your claim of domestic violence.

i just do not get the 'battered woman' excuse. I mean look at this case. She had the wherewithal to buy a gun (with a silencer no less), poison, arrange help in cleaning up the body and the whole murder plan was INTENSELY pre-meditated and METHODICALLY carried out to a level of precision that would make the average horror movie writer envious of. Yet she was so battered that she could not come up with a plan to leave him in a country like Australia where women's shelters are plentiful and the general populous is CLEARLY sympathetic to abused women?

Why does the justice system in so many countries reward vigilante justice?

It really is open season on husbands in Australia now and that damn feminist lawyer knows it. If that level of planning and pre-meditation can be excused, ANY killing of a husband by his wife is excusable.

She MAY have been abused, but he's dead. No amount of Therapy can fix him. This is not 'eye for and eye' justice, this is 'life for a bruise' justice.

I thought governments needed to send a message to the public discouraging vigilante justice? I mean there exists THOUSANDS of LEGAL alternatives to murder, for women to get out of abusive relationship and live free on the tax payer dime for as long as they choose, so shouldn't we as a society stop accepting the battered woman excuse, and send the message that this type of behavior is NOT acceptable?

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Submitted by Paragon on Fri, 2010-06-04 21:21