Ruth Ellis
True Crime All The Time
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The Provocation Defense in the 1950s
Mansfield: Judge, prosecutor and defense were laboring under a misconception or misunderstanding of the law. Just two years after Ruth was executed, the law changed to allow diminished responsibility as a defense. Mansfield announced his intention to call on a medical expert who would testify that Ruth suffered from battered woman syndrome. He also said that it was remarkable that the people involved at trial believe that to establish provocation, there could be no malice or intent.
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