Draft:Glenda Crosley

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Glenda Sue Crosley (née Matthews; March 28, 1944 – July 13, 2013) was an American woman convicted in 1988[1] of murdering her husband, Sam Crosley, on August 12, 1986, in Bakersfield, California. Crosley's unsuccessful legal defense was based on what was then called "Battered Wife Syndrome,"[2] (now "Battered Woman Syndrome") and included evidence that Sam had subjected her and their daughters to years of physical and psychological abuse.[3] Her case was one of many that led to changes in California law that allowed judges and juries to consider histories of intimate partner violence as mitigating circumstances in cases of domestic homicide[4]

Early Life and Marriage

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Glenda Matthews was born on March 28, 1944, in Bakersfield. She and Sam Crosley were married in 1962. Their children, all girls, were born in 1963, 1966, and 1969.[5] The couple separated and reconciled twice.[6]

Murder of Sam Crosley

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At about 9:10pm on August 12, 1986, in a shopping center parking lot in Bakersfield, Glenda struck Sam with her Volvo, fatally injuring him.[7] She then drove away from the scene and was arrested five blocks away after her car broke down.

Trials

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Crosley was charged with murder. Her first trial took place in July 1987. Her public defender attorney did not dispute the prosecution's account of Sam's death. Rather, he argued that it was the predictable culmination of "24 years of hell"[2], during which Sam had habitually physically and psychologically abused his family.  Two of their daughters and a family friend recounted frequent instances in which Sam beat Glenda and the children with his fists and a belt[3]. A clinical psychologist who had examined Glenda testified that she suffered from "battered wife syndrome," in which "a sense of impending doom" can lead to "the panic stage, where a woman can't think clearly at all."[8] This was the first time such a defense was presented in a California courtroom[6]. Crosley's attorney tried to convince the jury that in this panicked state, believing that her husband was about to retrieve a tire iron from his car and kill her with it, Crosley was incapable of premeditation and therefore could not be convicted of murder.

However, other testimony established that the Crosleys were not living together at the time of the killing, and that he had not beaten her during the preceding months[3]. A friend of Sam's testified that Sam had been trying to avoid Glenda[2]. The prosecution's theory of the case was that Glenda killed Sam in rage over him leaving her.[9]

The jury acquitted Crosley of first degree murder, but deadlocked on all other possible charges (second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter.[10]

Crosley was tried again in April 1988, and this time was convicted of second degree murder[1]. In June 1988, the trial judge sentenced her to 15 years to life in prison.[11] Commenting on why he declined to impose a lesser sentence, the judge said "The court cannot declare this open season for spouses who do not conduct themselves properly."

Imprisonment, Activism, and Legacy

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Crosley was one of the founders of a prison group, Convicted Women Against Abuse, that advocated for greater leniency toward women who, suffering from battered woman syndrome, kill their domestic abusers[5]. A 2009 documentary film, "Sin by Silence," publicized the group's efforts.

Although the court had allowed Crosley to present the battered woman defense at both her trials, it had been limited in several ways.  For example, both trial judges refused to allow testimony about how Sam's abusive behavior had resulted in arrests and numerous police visits to the home.[5]. Furthermore, both judges told the jurors to discount what they had heard about Sam's abusive behavior[9]

Cases such as Crosley's led to reforms that strengthened the use of the battered woman defense in cases of intimate partner homicide in California.[4]. In 1991, the state enacted California Evidence Code §1107, which explicitly recognized the admissibility of battered women's syndrome testimony when appropriate, and established that expert witness testimony in such cases "shall not be considered a new scientific technique whose reliability is unknown." In 2001, California enacted legislation that created "a habeas corpus claim for battered women convicted of murder" before the enactment of §1107. A law passed in 2012, AB 593, allowed for resentencing hearings for women who were convicted of intimate partner homicide when the battered women's syndrome defense was admissible but unfairly limited[9]. The director of "Sin by Silence" stated that "AB 593 basically was crafted around her case."[5] However, before she could obtain a resentencing hearing, Crosley died of pancreatic cancer on July 13, 2013, still an inmate at the California Institute for Women in Chino[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Trihey, Michael (April 23, 1988). "Jury: Crosley Murdered Her Husband". Bakersfield Californian. pp. 8–9.
  2. ^ a b c Trihey, Michael (July 17, 1987). "Lawyer: Client Killed Spouse Due to Abuse". Bakersfield Californian. pp. 1–2.
  3. ^ a b c Trihey, Michael (July 21, 1987). "Family Testify Woman Accused of Killing Mate was Battered Wife". Bakersfield Californian. p. 28.
  4. ^ a b Hempel, Carrie (Winter 2011). "Battered and Convicted: One State's Efforts to Provide Effective Relief". Criminal Justice. 25 (4): 24–32 – via HeinOnline.
  5. ^ a b c d e Edelhart, Courtenay (July 17, 2013). "Imprisoned Woman Became Advocate for Victims of Battered Woman Syndrome". Bakersfield Californian. p. 5.
  6. ^ a b "Battered Wife Syndrome Can't Help Bakersfield Woman". Bakersfield Californian. September 23, 2009. p. 5.
  7. ^ Swenson, Steve (August 29, 1986). "Trial Ordered for Wife Accused of Running Over Husband". Bakersfield Californian. p. 18.
  8. ^ Trihey, Michael (July 22, 1987). "Expert: Husband-killer Acted out of Fear". Bakersfield Californian. p. 15.
  9. ^ a b c Henry, Lois (February 20, 2013). "Old Murder Case May Come Around Again". Bakersfield Californian. pp. 5–10.
  10. ^ Trihey, Michael (July 30, 1987). "Crosley Jury Deadlocks, Retrial Set in Husband Killing". Bakersfield Californian. pp. 1–2.
  11. ^ Trihey, Michael (June 4, 1988). "Woman Sentenced for Slaying". Bakersfield Californian. pp. 11–12.