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‘Sin by Silence’: documentary about women who murdered their abusers

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Summary of story from The Daily Beast, October 15, 2011

A new documentary telling the stories of US women convicted of murder aims to help change the way people think about domestic violence.

The documentary, ‘Sin by Silence’, by debut filmmaker Olivia Klaus, features the stories of six women imprisoned for killing the men they once loved.

In the one-hour film we hear from LaVelma, whose husband was a pastor by day and tormentor by night; Joanne, a mother of three, who tried repeatedly to leave but could not support her children on her own; and Glenda Crosley, a soft-spoken, grey-haired grandmother who – after 25 years of marriage – ran her husband over in a parking lot.

In 1989, a group of 60 women – calling themselves ‘Convicted Women Against Abuse’ – was formally recognized by the state as the first inmate-run support group in the country.

The group would ultimately make headlines, most prominently when the California Legislative Women’s Caucus called on them to testify before a series of legislative hearings.

The women from the group then told their stories – explaining how, in court, they were forbidden from presenting evidence that they had been abused.

“Battered women’s syndrome” was the term used to describe the mindset of a woman who had suffered prolonged abuse back then.

As a result of these women’s testimonies, in 1992 the California legislature formally deemed it an admissible defence in court.

In the two decades since that first battle, 10 states have added battered women’s laws to their books, according to the director, and battered women’s syndrome has been used as a defence in hundreds of cases.

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