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Movement for Clemency
...a current issue for SPARC
The movement for clemency is an important issue today because of the
growing problem of domestic violence and the number of women in prison for
capital crimes believed to be related to domestic abuse.
The clemency movement stems from the history of domestic violence. "Male
violence against women is at least as old an institution as marriage," says clinical
psychologist Gus Kaufman Jr. {3}. Until the 1970s, the time of the first wave of
legal reform, an aggravated assault against a stranger was a felony but assaulting a
spouse was considered a misdemeanor {3}. According to a 1990 gender-bias
study completed by the Florida Supreme Court, police seldom arrest domestic
violence offenders even when there are injuries serious enough to warrant
hospitalization of the victim. "Domestic violence is not seen as a crime. A man's
home is still his castle. There is a system that really believes that women should be
passive in every circumstance," says Linda Osmundson, co-chair of a battered
wives' task force for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence {3}. Last year
the American Medical Association, backed by the Surgeon General, said that violent
men constitute a major threat to women's health. A 1988 Surgeon General's report
listed domestic violence as the No. 1 cause of injury to women {6}. Researcher and
author Angela Browne points out that "a woman is much more likely to be killed by
her partner than to kill him." {3} Statistics show that in 1991, when approximately 4
million women were beaten and 1,320 murdered in domestic attacks, 622 women
killed their husbands or boyfriends {3}.
In 1991, Gov. Lawton Chiles and the Cabinet established a policy to expedite
the deciding of cases involving spouse-abuse victims who have killed their
husbands or boyfriends. They created three battered-woman syndrome panels to
review spouse-abuse cases and make recommendations {1}. These panels were
intended to help Florida's clemency board consider the battered spouse syndrome
in appeals by abuse victims convicted of murdering their abusers {2}. Those
seeking clemency under the new rule were required to present evidence of a history
of abuse that led them to kill the abuser. Florida law does not specifically provide
for a battered spouse defense in court but this type of evidence has been used
successfully in self-defense pleas {2}. The new procedures were set to take effect
Jan. 1, 1992. Under the new procedure, clemency cases will be reviewed by a
three-member panel, including a court representative, a medical or psychological
expert and a member with specialized knowledge of abuse cases {2}. A revision,
effective January 1992, of Florida's domestic violence laws allowed the laws to
apply to unmarried couples. The new law also redefined family to include people
who are living or have lived together as a family, or who have a child together {5}.
In 1991, the law applied only to spouses or former spouses. The law also expanded
the definition of domestic violence to include any criminal offense that causes injury
or death to any family member {5}. The law provided that a copy of domestic
violence police reports be sent to the nearest certified domestic violence center
within 24 hours.
Currently, Florida is pushing forward with the clemency movement. On
March 11, 1993, Gov. Lawton Chiles and four of Florida's six Cabinet members
conditionally commuted the 15-year sentence of Kimberly Bliss Soubielle, who was
convicted of second-degree murder { 1}. "This action is a recognition that battering
of women is a tragic reality that affects women in every walk of life," Chiles said { 1}.
Soubielle's sentence was not revoked but changed with conditions. She was placed
on probation for 15 years and is required to obtain therapy for herself and her
daughter as conditions of her clemency. Soubielle served five years of her sentence
{1}. Offering women clemency is not the same as amnesty because the
punishment is reduced though the act is not excused. Soubielle was the first to gain
clemency through Florida's new 1991-1992 procedures. Approximately 26 other
states have also joined the national movement to re-examine the cases of abuse
victims who kill their abusers {3}.
The clemency movement is not without its critics, however. Many who
oppose the clemency laws point out that many domestic disputes are more
complicated and not as easy to decide as advocates of clemency suggest.
Opposers of the clemency movement also suggest that society should not be
sending the message that killing abusers is justified {6}. The opposition does not
feel that the victims should be blamed, but neither should they be justified. The
Soubielle case in Florida drew criticism from police, prosecutors, the Parole Board
and two Cabinet members { 1}. The criticism in this case, as well as many others,
concerned the Cabinet's role in second-guessing the jury or the court that rendered
the conviction. Opponents are concerned that this invites manipulation by
prisoners {3}. Critics point to one woman in Maryland who was released and later
boasted about having actually committed the crime {3}. Some critics have
sounded an alarm because they think anyone in a penitentiary who sees this as a
possible way out will claim that they too were a victim of domestic abuse.
The future implications of the clemency movement are varied. A new
movement for more preventive measures has been taken up in many states. This
movement suggests increased penalties for federal sex crimes; increased monies to
police, prosecutors and courts to combat violent crimes against women; and
reinforcement of state domestic violence laws. States could also watch California's
newest bill that would allow victims of domestic violence to invoke a justifiable
homicide defense in the killings of their attackers. Under this new bill, defendants
claiming justifiable homicide defense would have to produce independent evidence
demonstrating that they had been repeatedly beaten, raped or sodomized and
imprisoned by their spouses or domestic partners {4}. They would also have to
show that they honestly believed that they or their children were in "imminent
danger" of death or injury at the hands of the abuser. Florida is among the many
states on the forefront of the clemency issue, but there is still room for growth in
this area.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Associated Press. "Battered Wife Gets Clemency," The Florida Times-Union, 11
March 1993, sec. a, p.1+.
2. Associated Press. "Clemency to Consider Battered Syndrome Now," The Florida
Times-Union, 19 December 1991, sec. b, p. 3.
3. Gibbs, Nancy. "'Til Death Do Us Part," Time, 18 January 1993, 39-45.
4. Ingram, Carl. "Senate OKs Bill Allowing Claim of Justifiable Homicide," Los
Angeles Times, 19 June 1993, sec. a, p. 26.
5. Ross, Lila. "Revision Will Help Battered," The Florida Times-Union, 1 January
1992, sec. b, p. 1.
6. Siegel, Suzie. "Battered Women Behind Bars," Tampa Tribune, 15 February
1993.
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