Brooks v. State

Marguerite Brooks (defendant) shot and killed her husband, Lewis, after he grabbed her, threatened to kill her, and chased her while drunk; she retrieved a gun from a friend's home, warned Lewis repeatedly to stay back, and shot him when he kept advancing toward her despite the warnings. At trial for murder, an expert testified Marguerite suffered from battered-spouse syndrome, a form of PTSD, and during deliberations the jury asked whether that syndrome could support manslaughter or count as provocation; the trial court answered "no" to both questions without objection from Marguerite. The jury convicted her of murder, and she appealed.