Battered Women’s Syndrome” wasn’t a defense until 1992, right?
Battered Women’s Syndrome has never been a defense. This is a common myth. In criminal cases, evidence of domestic violence can support traditional defense claims, such as self-defense or duress, by explaining how a domestic violence survivor’s experiences of abuse related to the crime for which she was charged. In 1992, expert testimony on Battered Women’s Syndrome, which is now referred to as “intimate partner battering and its effects,” was formally made admissible in criminal cases in California. However, this law (Evidence Code §1107) was not retroactive. Therefore, most survivors convicted before 1992 never had the chance to talk about how their experience of being abused influenced their thoughts or behavior. Without this critical information, judges and juries were only getting part of the story, and these survivors were unjustly convicted.
