Abuse excuse
Definition
A self-defense claim that a defendant is incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong or of controlling his or her impulses as a result of being subjected to prolonged physical or mental abuse, i.e. as a result of, inter alia, battered-child syndrome or battered-woman syndrome.
See also
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
A type of self-defense claim with which defendants seek to justify their actions by proving that they were subjected to years of prolonged child or spousal abuse.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:10 pm
