[DV_listserv] Case News: Lousiana woman acquitted of killing her abusive husband

[Domestic Violence issues]

Some of you may have heard about the Louisiana case in which a woman was first convicted of 2nd degree murder after she killed her abusive husband.  Her conviction was vacated after a post-conviction determination that her attorney should have called a DV expert at trial.  She was then released, and recharged- and now acquitted of all charges.

The attached final verdict/ opinion includes a discussion of the facts, the expert and witness testimony and the determination of aggressor/ self-defense.  Below is an email with additional links from one of the expert witnesses that testified from the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Beth Meeks (via coalitions list)
Date: Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 2:25 PM
Subject: [coalitions] Curley Case - new trial outcome


Hi all,
Many of you will remember the Curley ruling last summer from Louisiana, overturning the life sentence of a battered woman who killed her husband while defending herself.  She was convicted of 2nd Degree Murder and got life.  She appealed her sentence because she did not have a DV expert testify at her trial. She won, her conviction was vacated and she was released.
The New Orleans prosecutor brought the charges again and she was retried 2 weeks ago, this time with experts, including myself, to specifically address DV and self-defense.  She was acquitted of all charges. Supreme Court Ruling and Final Verdict from Retrial attached.  Good articles detailing process linked below.
Grateful for a better outcome and proof of the value of DV expertise.  Hoping it may be useful in efforts in other states.
New Orleans woman convicted of murdering abusive husband gets a new trial<https://www.nola.com/crime/2018/06/woman_convicted_of_murdering_a.html>
New Orleans woman suffered from battered woman syndrome before shooting husband, experts say<https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_f943ccc6-3a2d-11e9-9149-03f3ba160cba.html>
After decade in prison, New Orleans woman who shot husband goes free as killing is deemed justified<https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_ca3ff61a-3c40-11e9-85e7-a7b71d5576fd.html>

Beth Meeks, MS
Capacity Technical Assistance Director
National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)
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Washington, DC 20005-4188
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Email: bmeeks at nnedv.org<mailto:bmeeks at nnedv.org>
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