The authors demonstrate that battered women who are forced to kill their attackers often face unfair convictions and sentences due to unequal treatment by the law and gendered modes of punishment. They argue that in different studies startling levels of discrimination in the courts against women who were victims of domestic violence were revealed.
Analysis of data from a sample of 503 women completing their community correction sentences in a Southeastern state in the US between January 1997 and April 1997. This study examines the factors that significantly contribute to the successful completion of probation and parole. Logistic Regression analysis reveals that age, race and alcohol and drug usage problems were the strongest predictors of success among female offenders. Limitations of these data and policy implications from this research are discussed.