oting (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 (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 problems that battered women face when using the self-defense justification. The decision also shows the need for a more gender-based defense when dealing with abused women. In society today, women are fighting back against their violent abusers and the problem doesn't seem to be going away. If the self-defense justification is not going to protect the women in our society, then we must examine the defenses that have proven to be effective. The most important part of battered women's cases is the defense. Most women who are indicted for murdering their husband's chose to use the self-defense justification. The case examples in the paragraphs above clearly proved that this defense is ineffective when used by battered women. Since the self-defense justification has failed to serve abused woman, we must investigate some of the new defenses that are presently being implemented. The defenses that were analyzed are excessive self-defense and psychological self-defense. These defenses, if adopted by the U.S., could help many battered women escape culpability an...
