State v. Stewart
Supreme Court of Kansas
763 P. 2d 572 (1988)
Peggy Stewart (defendant) killed her sleeping husband, Mike, after years of severe physical abuse against her and her daughter; expert testimony established she suffered from battered-woman syndrome. On the night of the killing, Peggy had voluntarily returned home with Mike, hidden a loaded gun under the mattress, and waited about two hours after going to bed before retrieving the gun and shooting him, despite having access to two cars she could have used to leave. A jury, instructed partly with a subjective standard, acquitted her, and the state appealed the jury instruction.
Whether, in cases involving battered-woman syndrome, a self-defense jury instruction is warranted only if the facts show the defendant-spouse was in imminent danger close to the time of the killing.