Behavioral Sciences and the zyxwvu Law, Vol. 8, 161-170 (1990) Battered Women in the Criminal Justice System: zy An Analysis of Gender Stereotypes Pamela Jenkins, Ph.D. and Barbara Davidson, M.S.W. Battered women charged with killing their abusers present a dilemma to the criminaljustice system. zyx Myths and stereo- types about women and battered women play a prominent role in the courtroompresentationofboth defense and pro- secution cases. While the prosecution may attempt to dis- credit the defendant for not living up to the standard of a ‘good woman’, the defense counters with an equally dis- torted portrayal of the defendant as ultra-feminine: the passive, helpless victim. Ten court cases of battered women charged with the death of their partners form the basis for a gender analysis of the social construction of the trial setting. This analysis includes the structure of the trial, the language of the zyxw trial interchange, the participants z in the process, and the role the defendant played in her own defense. zyxwv INTRODUCTION Now, defense counsel is going to argue a lot about this wifebeating situation. Is killing the solution to a wife beating situation? And do you turn a woman loose that has killed a man on the premise, and on the position that she got tired of them wifebeatings, if in fact they occurred, and that gives her the right to take the law in her own hands .. .? Is that good? If you turn that woman loose here, ladies and gentlemen, that is what you’re going to be condon- ing, right there. This closing argument was offered by the prosecutor in the 1,982 homicide trial of Cassandra Belton, a battered woman who ultimately was convicted of second degree murder in the stabbing death of her abuser. This quote illustrates several of the critical issues surrounding battered women on trial for killing their abusive partners. Even when these women believe and claim that they killed to save their own lives, their trials often do not reflect standard self-defense cases. Instead, their trials revolve around the characterization of the defendant, both as a woman, and Pamela Jenkins, Ph.D. is on the faculty of the University of New Orleans. Barbara Davidson, M.S.W. is with the Capital Area Family Violence Intervention Center, Inc. Please address correspondence and requests for reprints to Barbara Davidson, M.S.W., Capital Area Family Violence Intervention Center, PO Box 2 133, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821, USA. 0735-3936/90/020 161-1 0$05.00 zyxwv 0 1990 by John Wiley zyxwvuts 8i Sons, Ltd.