Women Who Kill: Violence, Trauma, and Forensic Psychology

Women rarely kill. How and why a woman can be driven to lethal action is often highly complex and misunderstood. Many of these women who act lethally are driven to such a point as a last resort following prolonged experiences of child abuse and/or domestic violence. This book offers insights into these women, detailing their motivations, their patterns of violence, and how they can be aided through psychological evaluation and proper expert testimony. The chapters in this volume also include discussions of women who did not kill but were punished as if they had. This collection of writings seeks to fill the gaps in research on women who kill.

This book is beneficial to students and researchers of Psychology including Forensic Psychology. It will further aid the field of criminal justice as well as policymakers such that clinicians can provide an enhanced understanding on various psychological and demographic factors which contribute to situations where battered women reach a point where the only option to ensure survival is lethal self-defense. Finally, this book offers clarity as it points out the areas in which the legal system has failed these women.

The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.

Lenore Walker introduced Battered Woman Syndrome into the courts in the 1980s. She is a 2023 recipient of the APF Gold Medal of Psychology Impact. Dr. Walker is an Educator and Psychologist who practices and testifies on forensic cases, especially in cases where one’s state of mine is impacted by gender violence events.

David Shapiro is recognized as one of the first individuals who practiced and wrote about the field of clinical forensic psychology, by looking at forensic psychology from the point of view of practice issues rather than theory and research. He has taught, presented, written, and received awards in the field of forensic psychology.

Amanda Temares is Postdoctoral Resident in Fort Lauderdale, USA. She has worked with a variety of populations and presently works with children, adolescents, and adults who are involved with the Florida Department of Children and Families as well as those who experience serious and persistent mental illness.

Brandi Diaz is Forensic Psychology Postdoctoral Fellow at the Forensic Services department within the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Her clinical duties include a variety of criminal and civil evaluations. She is the author of several articles and book chapters related to gender violence and evaluation procedures.