Barbara Sheehan - Should She Go to Prison?

[stilettos]

Originally Posted by MNlady

He had his back to her and was shaving...he had the gun laying on the bathroom counter right beside him...he had just put it to her head and told her he would kill her if she didn't go on vacation with him. He's not a threat????????

She ran to the bedroom and picked up the other gun (he only had one of the two he always carried) and thought she'd run past the bathroom door to get away, he saw her and came after her with the gun...she shot him at that point. FGS, read the links. This information was in the above links. I'd sure grab the gun out of his hand too, he might still be alive and able to shoot. IMO, NO, she shouldn't go to jail, she shot him in self defense.

Unless you have been a victim of someone who is this violent and has terrorized you for years, you will never understand the mindset or actual fear of death this woman had.

[OneLove]

Originally Posted by LadyL

so she didn't intend to kill him but shot him 11 times, even pulling his gun out of his hand after he was down?

she could've fled at that point (when he was down) even if she felt threatened previously, which I don't believe since he had his back to her and was shaving

she took the opportunity while she was angry to murder him IMO - yes, perhaps it was revenge for years of abuse but that doesn't equal self-defence

MOO

It seems what disturbs so many people is she shot him ELEVEN times. I, among many, believe she is justified in that action. People don't very often cease life in a split second with one shot. So maybe her first few shots didn't "put him down" enough for her to feel safe in that moment.

Being criminally nutz as he was, IF he had survived, say, three or four shots, and eventually recovered, ruined, disabled, and in chronic pain both physically and emotionally, does ANYONE believe she could EVER have walked (and slept) free in this world EVER AGAIN?

Justifiable homicide, I say. And the same to every life threatening abuser out there.

[stilettos]

Originally Posted by OneLove

It seems what disturbs so many people is she shot him ELEVEN times. I, among many, believe she is justified in that action. People don't very often cease life in a split second with one shot. So maybe her first few shots didn't "put him down" enough for her to feel safe in that moment.

Being criminally nutz as he was, IF he had survived, say, three or four shots, and eventually recovered, ruined, disabled, and in chronic pain both physically and emotionally, does ANYONE believe she could EVER have walked (and slept) free in this world EVER AGAIN?

Justifiable homicide, I say. And the same to every life threatening abuser out there.

Yes, I agree with your whole post. Had DFCS not intervened....I would have shot my abuser and eleven times would still not have assured me that the monster wouldn't get up and kill me. PTSD changes the way you perceive danger...and I believe that this woman may well have PTSD.

[OneLove]

Originally Posted by stilettos

Yes, I agree with your whole post. Had DFCS not intervened....I would have shot my abuser and eleven times would still not have assured me that the monster wouldn't get up and kill me. PTSD changes the way you perceive danger...and I believe that this woman may well have PTSD.

Been there myself; know what you mean. Xxo

[CanManEh]

I don't think anyone can really give a true factual oppinion every case is different and him being a police officer makes it even more difficult for her to get justice if she would have just up and left and went to court . AT the same time however bad it was for her she is allways gonna make it outto be prolly way woarse then it actually was if she don't suddenlly that line of enough is enough isn;t so blurry any more /My problem with the 11 shots is that she is what about her kids .i didn't see that they were abused even though they stand by her. I think the only way this may be justifiable is because he is a cop if he wasn't i would have to agree with her going to prision......

[PeteyGirl]

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.

[UdbCrzy2]

The Queens woman who shot her husband 11 times but was acquitted of murder was taken into custody Wednesday to await sentencing on a weapons possession charge.

Court officers slapped handcuffs on the woman, Barbara Sheehan, 50, and led her away after a brief proceeding before the acting Supreme Court justice, Barry Kron, who presided at her trial. Ms. Sheehan, dressed in a dark jogging suit, appeared shaken, but did not otherwise show much emotion while in court.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/ny...onviction.html

[angelmom]

Originally Posted by UdbCrzy2

The Queens woman who shot her husband 11 times but was acquitted of murder was taken into custody Wednesday to await sentencing on a weapons possession charge.

Court officers slapped handcuffs on the woman, Barbara Sheehan, 50, and led her away after a brief proceeding before the acting Supreme Court justice, Barry Kron, who presided at her trial. Ms. Sheehan, dressed in a dark jogging suit, appeared shaken, but did not otherwise show much emotion while in court.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/ny...onviction.html

Wow. Vindictive much? This DA does not like losing!

[laura08]

I read up on this story more earlier and seems majority of the witness's reported seeing marks on her and even one seen her bleeding. Another witness remembered hearing phone calls with him threatning her. I believe she was defending herself. Nothing points to why she would just murder him, no affairs, nothing to make me 2nd guess. I'm glad she isn't spending the rest of her life behind bars. Shooting him 11 when someone is scared, panicked, being threatened of there own life anything can happen, every person reacts to situations different and she was in fear at that time.

[SuziQ]

Children of NYC mom who killed husband pen book
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=156&sid=2124...sband-pen-book