or ongoing, in order for it to be justifiable. Germany's liberal stance on the imminent danger element of self-defense is quite logical, because many abused women kill their attackers while they are asleep. The German method of viewing imminent danger would be an ideal tool for battered women, because they are abused continuously over an extended period of time (Dubin, 14). Many social scientists have studied the weaknesses of the self-defense justification and formulated personal theories about what the defense should entail. In 1987, C.P. Ewing introduced the psychological self-defense model. Ewing suggests that this defense is necessary, because battered women face psychological danger from their abusers. This defense would examine both the physical and psychological dangers that a battered woman has endured. If this model was adopted by the legislature it would allow a person to use reasonable force when an immediate danger threatens a person's mental state. Ewing stated, "The law needs to recognize that the value of human life lies not in mere physical existence but rather in the capacity to experience that existence in a psychological, meaningful, and rewarding fashion" (qtd. in Hilton, 268). The psychological self-defense model was tested by social scientists in 1990. One hundred and ninety-six undergraduate psychology students were given a real case scenario and asked to act as mock jurors. The research proved that when the mock jury was offered a psychological self-defense option nearly half of the participants would acquit the defendant (273).This research shows that jurors will respond more leniently when offered new alternatives for judging battered women's behavior. Many social scientists have come to support abused women and the battered women's syndrome, but there are still many critics who are not convinced. It is not the theory behind battered women's syndrome that has critics upset but rather the misuse of t...
