ARS Oct 8 2:45

    Francine Hughes was married to James “Mickey” Hughes for five years and divorced for six more before she killed him by burning down their Michigan home with him asleep inside (Blakemore, 2019). Mickey began abusing Francine immediately following their marriage, beginning on their honeymoon (Chicago Tribune, 2019). Often fueled by alcohol, Mickey physically, verbally, emotionally, and sexually abused Francine. Tired of the abuse, Francine divorced Mickey in 1971, but he often returned to her home and physically assaulted her, many times in front of their four children. Following a car accident where he was seriously injured, he moved back into the home. On March 9, 1977 Francine called the police after Mickey beat and threatened her, but they did not arrest him because they didn’t witness any abuse take place. The responding officers would later testify at her trial that they heard Mickey Hughes say to his wife that “it was all over” for his wife because she called the police (Chicago Tribune, 2019, para 10). After the police left, he beat and raped her before falling asleep. Francine moved their children to safety outside and placed them in the car. She then returned to the bedroom and poured gasoline around the bed Mickey was sleeping in, and then started a fire with a match. She immediately drove to the Ingham County Jail and turned herself in. Mickey died due to smoke inhalation and Francine was charged with first-degree murder (Sorrentino et al., 2019).

            When Francine Hughes went to trial for the murder of Mickey Hughes, her lawyer, Arjen Greydanus, pursued an acquittal through the insanity defense because he did not believe the jurors would agree that she acted in self-defense since Mickey was asleep (Chicago Tribune, 2019). Greydanus argued that Fracine had experienced a temporary psychological break from over a decade of abuse, including the physical assault and rape that happened the day of the murder. This argument became known as Battered Woman Syndrome, sometimes also referred to as Battered Wife Syndrome or Battered Spouse Syndrome. Responses and references