Thousands of women across the globe are stuck in long-term domestic abuse situations that they cannot escape. Some of these women try to defend themselves against their abuse partners or just end up snapping leading to potentially fatal injuries of the abusers. This was the case for Nateonna Roland, a black woman in Buffalo, New York who is being charged with 1st degree manslaughter after killing her abusive boyfriend. If convicted of the charge, Roland faces a maximum of 25 years in prison. Nateonna was only 22 at the time of the incident meaning she will miss out on nearly her entire young adult life in given the maximum sentencing. She has since pleaded guilty and in light of her domestic abuse situation lessening the maximum to 10 years. “The change in plea also was based on Boller granting a presenting hearing, Kulpit said, in which she would be allowed to argue that Roland was a victim of domestic violence” (Beseker). She had been in this abusive situation with her long term boyfriend for a prolonged period of time and felt she had no way out. My heart goes out her because she felt hopeless and scared. Although it is sad a life was lost, I understand the circumstance and think that it played a huge role in her decision making.
Imagine being a women fighting for your life and end up behind bars because of it. Would you feel failed by the justice system? I know I would! You might just be in luck though, as long as you’re a white woman. White women often win these cases using Battered Woman Syndrome as their defense, while their black counterparts rarely win these cases.
Dr. Lenore Walker, came up with the concepts of Battered Woman Syndrome in the late 1970’s and since then Battered Woman Syndrome has made its way from the medical field to the court room. Battered Woman Syndrome is used as a legal defense in many cases across the United States to exonerate victims of abuse who have killed or severely injured their abusers. The legal definition of Battered Woman Syndrome states that it is “pattern of psychological dependency among women caught in long-term relationships with abusive male partners”(US Legal, Inc.,n.d.) resulting in a state of “learned helplessness, limiting free choice and placing victims of abuse in a spiral of conflict that occasionally results in a violent and sometimes fatal response over which they have no rational control”(US Legal, Inc.,n.d.). The defense had been used in courtrooms for years defending victims of domestic violence, but not all women receive the same outcome. The question is, why? Why does Battered Woman Syndrome only apply to white women, and not for black women?
Some may argue the nature of the crime outweighed the legal defense. Others may argue there is no racial bias involved. I know that this is not the case. For centuries black women have been failed by our justice system and we must put it to an end. To fully understand why this is the case, we must understand the stereotypes placed on black women. Too provocative, loud, outspoken, angry, all labels that have been placed on the backs of black women in society. All while white women have been labeled as pure, soft spoken and submissive. It only makes sense that a white women would never commit a violent crime in the right state of mind. They are too submissive to ever think of such a thing. And while it may be true, no one in their right mind would commit an act of violence, our justice system fails to make the same assumptions for black women.The abuse and violence women in long-term domestic violence situations face causes psychological harm. The racial discrepancies must be corrected within our justice system, and the only way to do that is addressing systematic racism and oppression of black people within our society.
Read More about Nateonna Roland’s case: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/family-says-buffalo-woman-was-victim-of-abuse-before-she-killed-boyfriend/article_6c3636ac-3034-11ec-828a-6b8462c81e33.html