The Men, the End the Dezpair

Some years ago a woman who murdered her husband was released from prison in the UK, on the grounds that he had spent years abusing her until she snapped and expressed herself with a hammer, defending herself against a violent man who ruined her life.

In many cases it is argued, women in similar situations have no exit, or if there is an exit from their marriage it is for someone with few social or marketable skills, who cannot simply 'walk away' from an abusive marriage, though there are refuges for women in need in the UK.

What strikes me about the Menendez brothers, is that they could walk away -or drive away in their case. They were not short of money or means, and could have simply walked out of the family home to start a new life somewhere else, so the 'abuse' defence to me doesn't add up, it sounds more like a cry of despair where none is recorded. In the end, I guess, they hated their parents so much they preferred to kill them rather than just abandon them.

Presumably if they had been living in Texas they would have been executed a long time ago?

‘I feel hope’: chance of release dawns for Menéndez brothers in 35-year-old case | US crime | The Guardian