There are quite a few women sitting in jail for the same thing, found guilty of murder.
A very good documentary, and lots of other links to be found here
http://www.sinbysilence.com/
I was there, too, and managed to get rid of my abusive husband, who was a gun nut and using methamphetamine. I was just as afraid I'd kill him as the other way around.
Unless you have been literally TRAPPED, with no choices (that you are aware of, which amounts to NO CHOICES), it's impossible to understand, easy to condemn.
My personal belief is that a woman (or man in the same situation) is responsible to get herself out and away, period. Resorting to killing the abuser is murder. And part of me cheers the women who resort to murder, justifiable, self-defense or not. Because I've been there, and know exactly what it feels like to KNOW you could kill another human being. How many people ever get to have that experience?
I don't blame people who don't understand. I believe a person can't understand unless they experience it. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to save ourselves, before murder becomes the only choice.
My ex abuser told me he was "good buddies" with the local sheriffs, and I believed him. I knew if I went to them, and they didn't take me seriously (as had happened when we lived in a different city before), he would find out and then what?
It turns out the sheriffs and detective had been waiting for a break, some shred of proof because they knew what he was up to. One day when they rolled up my driveway to tell me he was in the ER at a hospital 77 miles away I begged them to help me. They tossed our house, confiscated 16 guns (rifles and pistols), a few grams of marijuana hid in the closet, and IV drug paraphernalia. I never saw him again. I carried the one pistol they didn't find, loaded with hollow point 9mm bullets wherever I went. I had a restraining order but how could I trust THAT to protect me? I since moved from the area and he has no idea where I am, I've made damn sure of that.
Compared to the situations like Barbara Sheehans, I was lucky. An opportunity arose that showed me he was NOT buddy buddy with the cops. Perhaps Sheehan had no such opportunities? Daily abuse makes you crazy, and desperate, and reckless. Expecting such a person to remain logical and thoughtful is ridiculous.
I'm glad she is acquitted. I don't agree with what she did, though a part of me cheers her for cleaning up that piece of ***** from the planet. I won't pretend to judge her decision.