Editor's Letter
Battered Women
orah teaches justice — the will of the people
men can be victimized, too, though in far lesser num-
through due process. But how is it applied when bers: Only 4 percent of male murder victims are killed
a woman battered by a mate acts decisively in
by a female partner, reports. the U.S. Department of
self-defense? I hadn't thought about that before last
Justice. The Michigan Battered Women's Clemency
week, when the Michigan Battered Women's
Project reveals that most women who kill do so in
Clemency Project held a rally at the Michigan State
self-defense or while protecting their children, follow-
Capitol in Lansing.
ing years of severe abuse.
Three women lawyers and a
Haven and House of Ruth offer secular domestic
Women's Studies professor at the
violence counseling programs. In the Jewish commu-
University of Michigan, Carol
nity, domestic violence cuts across all streams of
Jacobsen, lead the Ann Arbor-
Judaism as well as all income levels. Jewish Family
based project. The four as well as a Service and the National Council of Jewish Women
corps of volunteers promote
also counsel domestic violence victims, whether
clemency for women prisoners
they're Jewish or not.
Robert A. Sklar convicted of murder in Michigan,
Rabbi Hornsten serves on the Oakland
Editor
but who, as evidence and circum-
Coordinating Council Against Domestic Violence. "We
stances suggest, killed while
are rabbis, ministers, priests and imams',' she said.
defending themselves
"We are health professionals and chaplains. As differ-
against extreme abusers.
ent as we all are, we all share the same
This High Holiday
Conviction was the result of
belief that domestic violence is antithet-
a jury trial or guilty plea
season ... provides ical to our religious convictions."
because little or no evi-
Proclaiming October as Domestic
dence of domestic violence
the right backdrop Violence Awareness Month in Michigan,
was presented. Currently,
Gov. Jennifer Granholm said: "Spanning
to ... help abused
the project is seeking
centuries, cultures and continents,
clemency from the gover-
domestic
violence is a tragic epidemic
women find a way
nor for 20 women.
that has plagued our society' The
Rabbi Marla Hornsten of
Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention
out before it's too
Temple Israel in West
and Treatment Board defines such
late.
Bloomfield was among the
abuse as something "that would cause a
250 people, including col-
reasonable person to feel terrorized,
lege students, who rallied on the
frightened, intimidated, threatened,
Capitol steps last Friday. She got involved with the
harassed or molested:'
project after reading about the 20 women, all serving
The Clemency Project so far has helped gain free-
life sentences despite their claims that they killed in
dom for three women who had fought back against
self-defense. One of the women is 36, the same age as their abusers and received life sentences.
Rabbi Hornsten. The woman was convicted in 1988.
Rabbi Hornsten describes shalom bayit, peace in
Since then, she has earned a college degree, sou t
the home, as the cornerstone of Jewish family life. "It
vocational training, worked in the prison law library
does not mean peace at all costs, such that a woman
and demonstrated a capacity for leadership. Her con-
should stay in an abusive relationship:' she said.
viction came before the Michigan Court of Appeals
This High Holiday season of renewal and repen-
ruled in 1992 to allow expert testimony on battered
tance provides the right backdrop to fight domestic
women's syndrome to be presented at trial.
abuse in the home and examine sentencing in the
I don't understand all the legalities in these types of courts — and to do more to help abused women find
cases, but I was intrigued when Rabbi Hornsten reit-
a way out before it's too late.
erated that justice is a pillar of Torahns there a
I know how women are openly mistreated in fun-
greater justice with a capital J?" she asked in recount-
damentalist societies. Let's not turn a blind eye to the
ing her experience at the rally.
ferment that abuse releases here in America. We must
What she was asking was whether women who kill
work to reach abused women early on so they realize
while repelling unremitting abuse should be sen-
that killing isn't the only way out from under. II
tenced like others who are convicted of murder? Or
should they receive a lesser sentence along with help,
Where does domestic rage against
counseling and refuge? Does it matter if the abuse
women fit into in your panoramic view
was physical as opposed to mental or emotional?
of human and civil rights?
Meanwhile, I wonder: Why didn't the 20 women
eyeing clemency go to a close friend, a relative, the
Should a woman who kills a male
abuser be sentenced differently than
police or a clergy member before killing? Why didn't
others?
they just break off the relationship? Sometimes,
though, escape is the hardest option of all. The power
Michigan Battered Women's
of abuse can be mighty.
Clemency Project:
About a third of female murder victims are killed
www.umich.edu/clemency
by an intimate male partner. But let's not ignore that
T
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October 13 . 2005