State v. Stewart

Facts

D fatally shot her husband, Mike Stewart, while he was sleeping. D was charged with murder in the first degree. D pled not guilty from self-defense. Following an annulment from her first husband and two subsequent divorces in which she was the petitioner, D married Mike Stewart in 1974. Mike abused Peggy and her two daughters from one of her prior marriages. From almost the very beginning Mike hit and kicked D, and D exhibited signs of severe psychological problems. D was hospitalized and diagnosed as having symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia; she responded to treatment and was soon released. Laura claims that Mike encouraged D to take more medicine than prescribed. In 1977, two social workers informed D that they had received reports that Mike was taking indecent liberties with her daughters. Because the social workers did not want Mike to be left alone with the girls, D quit her job. In 1978, Mike began to taunt D by stating that Carla, her 12-year-old daughter, was 'more of a wife' to him than D. Carla was placed in a detention center, and Mike forbade D and Laura to visit her. Carla was forced to sleep in an un-airconditioned room with the windows nailed shut, to wear a heavy flannel nightgown, and to cover herself with heavy blankets. Mike would then wake Carla at 5:30 a.m. and force her to do all the housework. D and Laura were not allowed to help Carla or speak to her. D demanded that the situation cease, and Mike responded by holding a shotgun to D's head and threatening to kill her. Mike once kicked D so violently in the chest and ribs that she required hospitalization. Mike ordered D to kill and bury Carla. D filed for divorce. D's attorney in the divorce action testified in the murder trial that Peggy was afraid for both her and her children's lives. Mike threw Carla out of the house. Carla, who was not yet in her teens, was forced out of the home with no money, no coat, and no place to go. When the family heard that Carla was in Colorado, Mike refused to allow D to contact or even talk about Carla. One morning, Laura found her mother hiding on the school bus, terrified and begging the driver to take her to a neighbor's home. For Christmas, Mike threw the turkey dinner to the floor, chased D outside, grabbed her by the hair, rubbed her face in the dirt, and then kicked and beat her. Laura moved away. When D was working at a cafe, Mike came in and ran all the customers off with a gun because he wanted D to go home and have sex with him right that minute. He abused both drugs and alcohol and amused himself by beating her with a baseball bat. He shot one of D's pet cats, and then held the gun against her head and threatened to pull the trigger. D ran away, and Laura had her admitted to a hospital because she was suicidal. D was diagnosed as having toxic psychosis as a result of an overdose of her medication. D agreed to return to Kansas. Peggy told a nurse she felt like she wanted to shoot her husband. At trial, she testified that she decided to return with Mike because she was not able to get the medical help she needed in Oklahoma. D testified that Mike threatened to kill her if she ever ran away again. As soon as they arrived at the house, Mike forced D into the house and forced her to have oral sex several times. D discovered a loaded .357 magnum. She hid the gun under the mattress of the bed in a spare room. Later that morning, as she cleaned house, Mike kept making remarks that she should not bother because she would not be there long, or that she should not bother with her things because she could not take them with her. Mike's parents visited, and Mike's father testified that D and Mike were affectionate with each other during the visit. Later, Mike forced D to perform oral sex after the parents left. As Mike slept, D thought about suicide and heard voices in her head repeating over and over, 'kill or be killed.' D had access to the car keys for two cars in the driveway. D went to the spare bedroom and removed the gun from under the mattress, walked back to the bedroom, and killed her husband while he slept. She then ran to the home of a neighbor, who called the police. The expert for the defense diagnosed D as suffering from 'battered woman syndrome,' or post-traumatic stress syndrome. P's expert stated that D was unable to escape the abuse because she suffered from schizophrenia, rather than the battered woman syndrome. The trial judge gave an instruction on self-defense to the jury. The jury found D not guilty. P appealed seeking clarification.

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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