Coerced then convicted: a landmark case to the Court of Appeal
A woman wrongfully convicted of harming her baby finally gets her day in court in a case that has wide ranging ramifications for victims of coercive control and domestic violence caught up in the criminal justice system.
‘Jenny’ (who we cannot name for legal reasons) was convicted in 2017 of throwing her baby forcefully on the ground causing him serious injury. At the time of trial, she maintained that she had dropped the baby by accident. The jury convicted her, and she was given a 10-year extended sentence which was later reduced on appeal to a 5-year determinate sentence, of which she served half in prison.
Jenny, who is from a Black and Minority Ethnic background, will tell the Court of Appeal that in fact the injuries suffered by the baby were the direct result of being punched in the face by her partner whilst she was holding the child. The legal charity APPEAL, who represent Jenny, have obtained police and medical records that substantiate her claims, revealing a horrific history of abuse and coercion at the hands of her ex, as well as contemporaneous evidence that she was in fact punched on the night in question.
Jenny’s legal team will present evidence at the hearing that:
· Jenny lived with abuse so severe an expert psychologist described her experiences as equivalent to “torture” within her relationship, which included being deprived of sleep and food and being unable to leave the house for extended periods of time.
· There was a contemporaneous note of a hand injury to the fist that Jenny’s ex-partner is alleged to have punched her with that was not disclosed to original trial representatives or counsel.
· Taken to A&E upon her arrest, Jenny was diagnosed with ‘post-concussion syndrome’.
· Witnesses heard Jenny shouting “you hit me” at her ex-partner on the night of the incident.
Not questioned outside of the earshot of this violent man, Jenny didn’t feel she could disclose what had really happened, and eventually went along with his version of events.
The police were called to violent incidents at the couple’s home 11 separate times over two years, including on four occasions between her arrest and trial. Her partner’s controlling behaviour after her arrest included monitoring her movements and driving her to and from the trial. The abuse and coercive control she suffered was so severe, says Jenny, that it prevented her from revealing her ordeal to her legal representatives at trial. Only in prison, after she was diagnosed with PTSD and met other survivors did Jenny finally feel safe and able to disclose the trauma she had been through.
Jenny says, “I was permanently petrified of my ex-partner. A few weeks after I got to prison and was physically apart from him, my mental state gradually relaxed allowing me to acknowledge and process the abuse. Only then could I speak the truth”.
Implications
This landmark case has significant implications for how the courts understand and deal with victims of domestic abuse, in particular, coercive and controlling behaviour. Delayed disclosure of domestic abuse is sadly common. According to a 2017 report[1], BME women on average suffer domestic abuse for approximately eight years before disclosing abuse and/or seeking support, versus the national average of 2.3 years. This is the first known case to deal with these issues and will set a precedent for others.
The Court of Appeal will need to decide whether it will allow Jenny to put forward a different account of the events in question to the one she presented at trial. This is only normally allowed in exceptional circumstances. If the court decides that being subject to coercive control and standing next to your abuser throughout trial does not count as exceptional circumstances this will have a silencing effect on women in similar situations.
Emma Torr, Legal Director of APPEAL says: “If Jenny wins, it will change the way the cases of abused and coerced women are understood by the courts and law enforcement. Jenny deserves justice, and she deserves to finally have her voice heard.”
The hearing comes at a time when victims of alleged domestic abuse are seeing their cases dropped at a rapidly increasing rate. Nearly 13,000 cases were dropped in England and Wales over five years[2], raising questions about law enforcement agencies’ ability to respond appropriately to such allegations.
Ends
Notes to Editors
· APPEAL is a law charity that fights miscarriages of justice and demands reform.
· An order has been made by the Court of Appeal that pursuant to section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, nothing be published in relation to this case which might serve to identify the victim. For further information on the reporting restrictions, the Court of Appeal can be contacted on generaloffice@criminalappealoffice.justice.gov.uk . The Court clerks can be reached on courtclerks@criminalappealoffice.justice.gov.uk.
· If you would like to use photographs, attend the court hearing or request an interview with Jenny or APPEAL, please contact Charlotte Threipland, Policy and Comms Lead on charlotte@appeal.org.uk or 07786 937 718.
· Judgement is likely to be reserved.
· For further information on Jenny’s case, see our website: http://appeal.org.uk/jenny
[1] https://www.sistersforchange.org.uk/2017/11/20/unequal-regard-unequal-protection/