NCJ Number
162873
Journal
Journal of Juvenile Law Volume: 16 Dated: (1995) Pages: 91-114
Date Published
1995
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article argues that it is time for the legal system to put limits on childhood abuse as an excuse for murder and to confront the issues of responsibility in a calibrated manner that is comprehensible to jurors.
Abstract
Some legal experts consider that the Abuse Excuse, the legal tactic by which criminal defendants claim a history of abuse as an excuse for violent retaliation, is becoming a license to kill. It is popular in juvenile law and is used as a defense by both the abused juvenile and the abusive parent or guardian in incidents of violent retaliation or psychological turmoil. Analysis of the traditional self-defense doctrine and its applicability to the battered child syndrome reveals the transformation of self-defense from an objective to a subjective standard; the distinction between justification and excuse is becoming blurred. The use of such excuses is endangering the collective safety by legitimizing vigilantism. It reflects the people's frustration over the apparent inability of law enforcement and the American legal system to reduce the prevailing violence that is beginning to overwhelm the country. The abuse excuse is a symptom of a general abdication of responsibility. Footnotes, tables