A woman in her sixties has been charged with murder after her husband was shot twice in the chest with a shotgun while he lay in bed.Well, of course! What else could she do – leave him? Pshaw!
Helen Lawson, a clay pigeon shooting enthusiast, is alleged to have got up in the early hours of Sunday and taken her gun and ammunition from locked cabinets before shooting her husband, Geoffrey, at their cottage on the Isle of Wight.
Mrs Lawson, 61, then called the police to her home, the former post office in the village of Wellow, and admitted what she had done, saying that she had suffered years of verbal and physical abuse, the local magistrates’ court was told.
No doubt she’s counting on the new legislation announced last year being passed by the time she comes to trial so she’ll get a manslaughter sentence for it, instead of the murder sentence she’s charged with, and she fully deserves.
Naturally, her hired mouthpiece is on hand to release media-friendly statements ensuring that the survivor’s story is the only one told:
Roger Merry, Mrs Lawson’s solicitor, said that the couple, who both had children from previous marriages, had moved to the Isle of Wight to start a new life.And with today’s ‘justice-lite’, it probably never will…!
He said that close friends and family knew about alleged abuse that she had suffered at the hands of her husband. He said that Mrs Lawson was now feeling “an element of numbness – the reality of what she has done has not kicked in yet”.
Still, the message that ‘women with abusive husbands have no option but to kill them’ certainly seems to be prevalent in her community:
Another woman neighbour said: “Helen is a really lovely lady who would never cause anyone any trouble but her husband could be a difficult man.Not as drastic as her leaving him, though. Now, that would be shocking…
“It’s a terrible shock that something so drastic has happened.”
The options of 'leaving your husband' or 'reporting abuse to the police' are obviously not as popular as they once were.
ReplyDeletePlans are afoot to downgrade a murder charge under certain circumstances to 'manslaughter by reason of a heavy period.'
ReplyDeleteAren't these get-outs offensively patronising? They imply women have lower level of moral culpability, a kind of intrinsic diminished responsibility.
Maybe brutal thugs or rapists should be able to offer a defence of: "Well, Your Honour, it was the testosterone that made me do it."
After all, bull elephants on musth aren't expected to behave reasonably. You just avoid for few days or shoot them.
Please wait till after the trial.this man was my uncle and we are all grieving..........
ReplyDeleteWhat about downgrading murder to manslaughter if you were seriously hung-over when you did the deed?
ReplyDeleteThis stinks of Identity politics, as usual. Men are oppressors, women victims, etc ad nauseum.
Daveh: "Aren't these get-outs offensively patronising?"
ReplyDeleteThey are to me, yes. You'd think they would be to 'feminists' too, but I guess they can't see the wood for the trees.
Allyson: "this man was my uncle and we are all grieving"
You and your family have my sympathy, and let's hope the trial is arranged quickly for all your sakes.
"This stinks of Identity politics, as usual. Men are oppressors, women victims, etc ad nauseum."
Indeed. With Harriet Harman in any position of power, nothing less could be expected.
Feminism was hijacked quite early on by people who wanted *more* not *equal* - people like Harman who think that women should be in charge because any woman is by definition "better" than any man. People with more sensible life-outlooks just don't make it to the corridors of power...
ReplyDeleteIs the former Post Office one that was closed in the recent shut downs?
ReplyDeleteIf it was she can claim enforced mental stress and sue the schemes introducer. Alistair Darling step forward.