trine and that the court failed to properly instruct the jury on the battered woman syndrome. The Ohio Supreme Court reviewed the case (State v. Thomas pg. 1). Appellant testified that she had a very violent relationship with Flowers. She told the court that Flowers had forced her to quit her job, sent her to the emergency room for a shoulder injury, and gave her an ovarian cyst from punching her in the stomach. Appellant also testified that Flowers had denied her food for three to four days at a time, forced her to clean up his defecated clothing, and forced her to have sex without her consent. A few weeks prior to the shooting, Flowers had repeatedly threatened the appellant's life and forced her to have anal intercourse against her wishes. Appellant used BWS testimony to further support her claim of self-defense. Dr. Jill Bley, a renowned psychologist, testified that the appellant did suffer from the battered woman syndrome and that she reasonably believed she was in imminent danger at the time of the shooting (State v. Thomas pg. 1).In relation to the first argument by the appellant, the Supreme Court of Ohio found that there is no duty to retreat from one's own home when attacked by a cohabitant. The court decided that when considering the issue of human life, there is no distinction between the cohabitant and the intruder. The Ohio Supreme Court then reviewed the appellant's second argument and found that the trial court did not error in failing to provide the jury with a detailed definition of the battered woman syndrome. The court stated that this instruction would have set up a separate defense for the accused and would not allow the jury to determine if the appellant met the requirements for the second element of self-defense (State v. Thomas pgs. 3-5).Thomas, like many other battered women, fought to protect herself in her own home from imminent danger. The appellate court's decision helps portray the many prob...
