THE BATTERED WIFE'S DILEMMA: TO KILL OR TO BE KILLED

Despite the fact that wifebeating is a critical problem, the law has all but ignored it. Because of historical acceptance of wifebeating and police and prosecutor reluctance to treat it as criminal activity, battered wives sometimes feel that they have no choice other than to kill their husbands. This Note explores the use of the self-defense plea in this situation. Specifically, this Note concludes that the sociological and legal acceptance of wifebeating must be considered when evaluating the battered woman's perception of the necessity of using deadly force and the immediacy of the danger she is faced with.