Why are abused women arrested for defending themselves?

[greeniii2]

This is not a law enforcement bashing thread.. I am just curious why Tulsa county has such a high arrest rate for abused women defending themselves..

It sounds like she made very attempt to leave the property and couldn't. Does alcohol make that big of a difference when someone is beating you?

Man fatally stabbed in BA; girlfriend is jailed

She reportedly told police that she was trying to flee and acted in self-defense.

By Staff Reports
Published: 9/7/2010 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 9/7/2010 4:47 AM

BROKEN ARROW - A woman was arrested on a first-degree manslaughter complaint after a domestic dispute in which her boyfriend was fatally stabbed early Monday, police said.


Police said the pair got into a fight Sunday night and that the man was stabbed in the chest shortly after midnight.

Breck Barton, 43, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, where he died, police said.

Candice Neary, 29, told police she was trying to flee from the residence in the 400 block of North Date Avenue when Barton continued to assault her and that she stabbed him in the chest in self-defense, police reported.

According to an arrest report, responding officers found Barton lying in the living room floor and Neary screaming: "I am so sorry! I stabbed him!"

Police identified Neary as Barton's girlfriend.

The arrest report states that Neary was hysterical and continued to scream that she was sorry. The report states that she appeared to be intoxicated and that an odor of alcohol was detected.

She told police that Barton had become angry with her over an earlier police response to the residence, according to the arrest report. She said he entered the kitchen and began assaulting her.

Neary said she tried to escape through the back door and tried to call the police but that Barton continued to assault her, according to the report.

She told police that she grabbed an unknown item from the kitchen counter and swung it at him, according to the arrest
report.

Neary then ran out a back door and began shouting for someone to call 911, according to the report.

She was arrested on a complaint of first-degree manslaughter and booked into the Broken Arrow city jail to await transport to the Tulsa Jail, according to the report.

Neary's bail was set at $50,000.

 

[Glocktogo]

Well an arrest under the circumstances would be warranted it seems to me. She stated "I'm sorry", alcohol and domestic violence was involved and a death ensued.

A better question would be why wouldn't you arrest her?

Also, do you have actual statistics you're referring to, or just your perception that abused women are frequently arrested for defending themselves in Tulsa Co.?

 

[338Shooter]

I don't think you're allowed to use deadly force against a person in self defense unless you have reasonable suspicion of death or great bodily harm. I'm pretty sure you can't assume that one on one with no weapons involved. I don't see enough disparity of force to justify killing the dude. I'd say she's lucky she didn't get murder 2. Of course that is based upon just the info from the article. I can't really say what is right or wrong in this case without more info.

 

[SteveD2]

Don't know about the other cases, but this is a he said she said; except he didn't say anything cause he's dead.
Basically, nobody knows anything until they figure it out.

Edit: Crap, GtG beat me to it.

 

[SMS]

I think the key word is "arrested"...I'd be more interested in the conviction rate.

Common theme throughout the article: "she told police...", "she said...".

The responding officers just know someone is dead and someone else admitted to doing it. Can't blame them for arresting that someone. It's not there job to figure out guilt or innocence at the scene right?

 

[Keyser328]

Some people will apologize for having the right of way in an intersection. Some people are not hard coded that way and will apologize for saving their own life.

That said, being drunk doesn't help.

Being beaten does qualify as great bodily harm in my book, though.


Incidentally, by legal definition, isn't "assault" strictly verbal?

At the end of the article, I found myself without the required information to know if the woman should have walked on self defense or not. I'm sure there was a lot more to be seen at the location of the incident that we're not reading about in the report.

 

[greeniii2]

Well an arrest under the circumstances would be warranted it seems to me. She stated "I'm sorry", alcohol and domestic violence was involved and a death ensued.

A better question would be why wouldn't you arrest her?

Also, do you have actual statistics you're referring to, or just your perception that abused women are frequently arrested for defending themselves in Tulsa Co.?

The only factual proof I have is reading the stories the last few years about the women who have been arrested and convicted..

I guess I have always assumed if someone is beating you that you have a right to use what ever force necessary to stop them from beating you... Maybe growing up in a house where my dad beat my mother on a daily basis has blurred my thoughts on this subject..

The other case that comes to mind is the woman who shot her husband while he was beating her.. She had obvious signs that the abuse was occurring and she was tried and sentenced to 10 years for it..


Thanks for all the responses.. I guess it sucks to be a woman in Okla under the current D.A..

And for clarification I am in no way blaming law enforcement for arresting her.. I understand the final say rest in the D.A's office...

 

[Glocktogo]

The only factual proof I have is reading the stories the last few years about the women who have been arrested and convicted..

I guess I have always assumed if someone is beating you that you have a right to use what ever force necessary to stop them from beating you... Maybe growing up in a house where my dad beat my mother on a daily basis has blurred my thoughts on this subject..

The other case that comes to mind is the woman who shot her husband while he was beating her.. She had obvious signs that the abuse was occurring and she was tried and sentenced to 10 years for it..


Thanks for all the responses.. I guess it sucks to be a woman in Okla under the current D.A..

And for clarification I am in no way blaming law enforcement for arresting her.. I understand the final say rest in the D.A's office...

Sorry to hear about your mother. Did she call the police and file charges the first time it happened? I understand battered woman syndrome, but each person is responsible for THEIR actions, not those of another person. The reasonable person standard applies to this issue as with any other legal matter. If you are truly suffering from abuse, the proscribed legal remedy is to file a criminal complaint, get a VPO, cease all contact with the abuser and follow through in court.

If you follow these steps, you stand a MUCH greater likelihood of being found not guilty of a crime when you allege that you were protecting yourself from a dangerous and violent person with whom you have a relationship. Otherwise, it's just domestic violence and women can be just as violent as men, even if it's most frequently the male who is the aggressor.

 

[Michael Brown]

The only factual proof I have is reading the stories the last few years about the women who have been arrested and convicted..

I guess I have always assumed if someone is beating you that you have a right to use what ever force necessary to stop them from beating you... Maybe growing up in a house where my dad beat my mother on a daily basis has blurred my thoughts on this subject..

The other case that comes to mind is the woman who shot her husband while he was beating her.. She had obvious signs that the abuse was occurring and she was tried and sentenced to 10 years for it..


Thanks for all the responses.. I guess it sucks to be a woman in Okla under the current D.A..

And for clarification I am in no way blaming law enforcement for arresting her.. I understand the final say rest in the D.A's office...

I was a domestic violence detective for several years and don't know of any of the cases you speak of.....

Despite what some may believe, the current Tulsa County D.A.'s office has been very favorable regarding self-defense issues with very few notable exceptions i.e. Kenneth Gumm.

If a woman gets convicted for killing a domestic partner in Tulsa County, you can bet the farm there were some extenuating/mitigating circumstances that indicate that it was not a case of self defense.

Michael Brown

 

[redmax51]

All we know about this case is what the media has spoon fed us.The facts aren't out yet.