UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 32, Page 4
May 21, 1992
Research, prison visit result in President's Award

     A University student's summer research project eventually took
her to prison to meet a woman convicted of conspiring to kill her
husband, gave her first-hand insight into how the Board of Pardons
works and ultimately won her a prize.
     Junior political science major Dawn Browning won the President's
Award in the undergraduate division of the Women's Studies Research on
Women Essay competition held April 30. Soon to be a minor in women's
studies, she described the results of her research on battered women's
syndrome in her winning essay.
     Browning became involved with her topic when she conducted
research while participating in last summer's Humanities Scholar's
Program sponsored by the Undergraduate Research program. Her adviser,
political science professor Leslie Goldstein, suggested researching
this issue when Browning expressed an interest in studying women and
the law.
     The goal of her research was to analyze the theory of battered
women's syndrome and determine if it should be used as testimony in
legal cases in which women violently retaliated in response to an
abusive husband, boyfriend or lover. Browning said repeated abuse can
alter a woman's psychology and behavior. She studied the common
experiences of battered women and the impact of the abuse on them.
     Studying the theory, Browning learned that the abusive cycle
begins with a period of tension building when a woman is being abused
regularly. She then experiences an acute battering incident after
which the abuser will apologize and convince her to stay with him.
     Experiencing repeated abuse leaves the victim in a state of
"learned helplessness." She loses the ability to fight back, because
she perceives herself as helpless. Learning to cope is the best means
of survival.
     After studying the theory, Browning applied it to the law.
Judicial experts criticize using battered women's syndrome in court
cases because it characterizes the woman as a passive victim focusing
on the learned helplessness condition, rather than the environmental
circumstances of the case.
     Browning explained that her research verified the fact that
lawyers do concentrate on an abused woman's passivity. She suggested
that learned helplessness be excluded from legal testimony,
substituting social and environmental factors that trapped the woman
in the abusive relationship.
     These factors could include threats of physical injury, financial
dependence on the abuser, social isolation and a lack of a place to
go, since shelters for abused women are often overcrowded.
     The excessive violence also traps the woman because she is
generally smaller than her abuser, limiting her ability to fight back.
     Repeated abuse can lead to "cumulative terror" in which a woman
psychologically experiences all the beatings she has ever received,
Browning said.  This state of terror and hysteria may prompt the
victim to retaliate violently.
     Browning studied a Delaware case in which this happened.
     In 1980, Judy McBride conspired to have her abusive husband
beaten. She hoped the pain of the beating would make him realize what
he put her through. Unfortunately, the plan went awry and her husband
was killed.
     In 1982, McBride was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to
life in prison without parole. The day Browning presented her research
at the Women's Research Conference was the 12th anniversary of
McBride's arrest.
     In November, McBride went before the Delaware Board of Pardons to
have her sentence commuted to life with parole. Browning worked with
the member of the Coalition of Women's Rights who presented McBride's
case. She even visited McBride in prison.
     When she found out that she would visit the prison, Browning said
she expected to meet a "hardened woman," someone capable of plotting
to kill her husband. Instead, she met with someone who was "frail,
soft-spoken, non-aggressive, non-violent."  After speaking with her,
Browning said, "Judy was proof for me that the battered women's
syndrome does exist."
     Browning compiled the results of her summer's research and sent
it to each of the board members for consideration when deciding
McBride's case. However, the board decided to reject McBride's
request. Brown said she spoke with some members after the decision,
and they stated that premeditation and conspiracy preclude a plea of
self-defense.
     Their response showed "they still do not have a full
understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence."
     Browning submitted two papers to the research contest, one on the
syndrome's theory and another on McBride's case. Her essay on the
theory won.
     Extending her interest in women's issues beyond her research,
Browning is a co-founder of Lambda Delta Lambda, a woman's service
sorority.
     The goals of the group are to provide a supportive atmosphere for
women on campus, provide community service to organizations that
benefit women and promote awareness of women's and minority issues on
campus.
     This year, the sorority has sponsored speeches about women's
issues, held holiday parties for children at a domestic violence
shelter, and provided general support for pregnant women at the Bayard
House in Wilmington.
     Browning plans to continue her support for and education about
women in the future. This summer she will intern with State Sen. Pat
Blevins from Elsmere. Blevins is co-sponsoring legislation on battered
women's syndrome in the Delaware Senate.
     Browning said she wants to attend law school to study women and
the law.
     -Laura Reisinger