Why do women murderers get lighter sentences?

garysher · 06-08-2007, 04:27 PM

Wife sentenced in preacher's death

By WOODY BAIRD, Associated Press Writer 27 minutes ago

SELMER, Tenn. - A woman who killed her preacher husband with a shotgun blast to the back as he lay in bed was sentenced Friday to three years in prison, but she may end up serving only 60 days in a mental hospital.

Mary Winkler must serve 210 days, or about seven months, of her sentence before she can be released on probation, but she gets credit for the five months she has already spent in jail, Judge Weber McCraw said.

That leaves only two months, and McCraw said up to 60 days of the sentence could be served in a facility where she could receive mental health treatment. That means Winkler may not serve any significant time in prison.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

If this was a man shooting his wife to death as she lay in bed, he would have got a life sentence or worse.

Why are women able to get away with such callous and heinous crimes?

CrazyFlamingos · 06-08-2007, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysher

If this was a man shooting his wife to death as she lay in bed, he would have got a life sentence or worse.

Why are women able to get away with such callous and heinous crimes?

Quote:

It was early in the morning on March 22, 2006. She remembered her 1-year-old daughter Brianna, who had difficulty breathing, waking up in the middle of the night crying. She remembered Matthew, her husband, literally kicking her out of bed to go deal with their weeping child. When Brianna did not stop crying, Mary said Matthew did what he often did: suffocated Brianna by pinching her nose and covering her mouth to try to get her to stop.

ABC News: 'Battered Woman' Defense Tested in Winkler Case

Probably because, as they say in Texas, "He needed killin.'"

garysher · 06-08-2007, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrazyFlamingos

Probably because, as they say in Texas, "He needed killin.'"

SO you think that murder is acceptable behaviour in those circumstances?

Antithesis · 06-08-2007, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysher

SO you think that murder is acceptable behaviour in those circumstances?

I think he was joking.

It's like this in the justice system all the time. if you saw the numbers for who gets the kid in divorces, it's clearly biased toward the mother.

Hio · 06-08-2007, 05:33 PM

Maybe they feel she and her child were threatened so much by him that she was almost obligated to do this. Yeah shooting him was wrong but yeah she could go with the insanity plea with it. Just like a case I heard where the husband was beating the wife so much that while the man was sleeping she stabed him repeatedly till he died. After abuse like that something just snaps and you have to do what you feel will protect you the most. Not saying its right though.

garysher · 06-08-2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hio

Maybe they feel she and her child were threatened so much by him that she was almost obligated to do this. Yeah shooting him was wrong but yeah she could go with the insanity plea with it. Just like a case I heard where the husband was beating the wife so much that while the man was sleeping she stabed him repeatedly till he died. After abuse like that something just snaps and you have to do what you feel will protect you the most. Not saying its right though.

That doesn't make any sense.

It's misleading to suggest that any woman is forced to murder her husband, no matter how abusive he is. A woman always has the option of leaving the man or going to the police or both

It's amazing how many people, like you, have a sneaking admiration for these women killers. It seems to be especially true of other women.

Even the Texas woman who drowned her 5 children was released from prison on appeal, and again many people wanted to blame her husband!

But would you feel the same about a man who shot his wife while she slept, because she nagged him too much?

If he pleaded temporary insanity and got off with 60 days in prison would that be justice?

Yagmi · 06-08-2007, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysher

SO you think that murder is acceptable behaviour in those circumstances?

You think it is ok if a man rapes a woman, as long as it is in the privacy of their own home......

You hate women... We all know that already.

CrazyFlamingos · 06-08-2007, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hio

Maybe they feel she and her child were threatened so much by him that she was almost obligated to do this. Yeah shooting him was wrong but yeah she could go with the insanity plea with it. Just like a case I heard where the husband was beating the wife so much that while the man was sleeping she stabed him repeatedly till he died. After abuse like that something just snaps and you have to do what you feel will protect you the most. Not saying its right though.

In all seriousness, it is easy for me to believe that she had reached the point that she truly just could not see any other way out of the misery that this family was going through.

Her husband was a threat to her and to her children. And the only way she could be sure that he would never have access to them again was if he was dead.

If she left him and got custody of the children, he probably would still have visitation rights.

Also if she left him, the chances that he would escalate his violence toward her and the children would increase exponentially. The headline might very well have read, “Man gets life sentence for murder of his wife and children.”

After ten years of regular abuse there is little doubt that she was suffering from some sort of mental illness whether or not she would be considered legally insane before and/or after that night. It is a fact that sometimes people who are trapped in a situation that they see no way out of just “snap.”

Was what she did the moral choice?

No.

Does she deserve to spend the rest of her life in prison for it?

IMO, also no.

OhDear · 06-08-2007, 06:15 PM

Gary,

As far as I am concerned, her sentence was not light at all. And she walked the other side of pulling that trigger in a hell far more awful than any time spent behind bars could prove to be.

I count her a hero for pulling that trigger. Enough is enough!!!

OD

Hio · 06-08-2007, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysher

That doesn't make any sense.
Umm It makes perfect sense
It's misleading to suggest that any woman is forced to murder her husband, no matter how abusive he is. A woman always has the option of leaving the man or going to the police or both
Nearly all the time the woman is under such an "Iron Fist" type relationship she is too afraid to do anything about it. Its just a strong sense of fear in the Wife and power that the husband has over her.
It's amazing how many people, like you, have a sneaking admiration for these women killers. It seems to be especially true of other women.
What the hell is that supose to mean?
Even the Texas woman who drowned her 5 children was released from prison on appeal, and again many people wanted to blame her husband!

But would you feel the same about a man who shot his wife while she slept, because she nagged him too much?
This has nothing to do with nagging its abuse....get on the right track Gary
If he pleaded temporary insanity and got off with 60 days in prison would that be justice?

That question is irrelevent because in those situations the man would most likely kill her during the argument thus not equaling insanity so he wouldnt get just 60 days. If he DID wait till she was asleep there was most likely something else that lead to it aswell, not just the "nagging".

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