Common Pleas found the defendant Tracy VanSickle guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a firearm violation, and abuse of a corpse. VanSickle was sentenced to serve seven to 25 years for the manslaughter charge, three years for the firearm violation, and one and a half years for the abuse of a corpse. The issues appealed by the defendant pertain to the burden of establishing oneself as a battered woman, while proving the elements of self-defense. Appellant argues that the trial court erred, because of the testimony supporting her actions and the courts initial finding that she was a battered woman. The 10th district Ohio Appellate Court reviewed the case (State v. VanSickle,1). Dr. Lenore Walker gave expert testimony at the trial court stating that the appellant did suffer from the Battered Woman Syndrome. Dr. Walker also testified that the appellant possessed a reasonable belief of great bodily harm at the time of the shooting. The appellant was found to be a battered woman by the trial court but was not found to be suffering from the actual syndrome. The appellant's actions of trying to conceal the body, and other witness testimony claiming that she had planned to kill her husband before hand, which caused the appellate court to find numerous inconsistencies in the testimony given at the trial court. The appellate court also found that the appellant and Dr. Walker were the only ones supporting the claim that the defendant had acted out of an honest belief of imminent danger. The appellate court stated that the jury did not error by giving credibility to the opposing witnesses and affirmed the trial court's decision (1-3). Even though Dr. Walker testified that the defendant suffered from BWS and that she was acting in a reasonable belief of imminent danger, the jury was not convinced. The appellate court's decision shows how difficult battered women's syndrome is to prove in a court of law. Case #2- State v. Williams On February 13, 19...
