Anthony Williams was today handed a five-year sentence by a judge at Swansea Crown Court for the manslaughter of his wife, Ruth, of 46 years. He had told detectives he just snapped when she told him to “get over it.” Judge Paul Thomas described this as a “tragic case on several levels” after hearing evidence Williams had suffered with depression and anxiety after five days of being in lockdown.
Yesterday, Centre for Women’s Justice hosted a launch event attended by over 1400 people for their report on ‘Women Who Kill - how the state criminalises women we might otherwise be burying” a comprehensive study of how the criminal justice system treats women who kill men who abuse them.
Amongst the many findings of the research, the report reveals that 43% of women who kill men who have been abusive to them are convicted of murder and 46% manslaughter. Of those convicted of manslaughter, the sentencing for manslaughter in many cases is in the region of 14 to 18 years. It also reveals that women almost invariably use a weapon against physically more powerful men due to their fear of his violence, yet use of a weapon will attract higher sentences.
Earlier, Judge Thomas had hauled domestic violence campaigner Rachel Williams, and Welsh Assembly member Helen Mary Jones into court threatening contempt proceedings after they sent ‘inappropriate tweets’ speculating that there was a history of domestic violence.
Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice said,
“Yet again we see deep-seated discriminatory attitudes laid bare by this latest sentencing which at its heart rests on a culture of misogyny. It is clear that women who resist male violence are punished most severely, whereas men who throttle their wives to death for no apparent reason are just “tragic” figures.”
The report on women who kill is the first comprehensive study of its kind in the England and Wales, is the result of a four-year research project which examines how the criminal justice system deals with women who are driven to kill men who abuse them. For more details of the findings which demonstrate institutionalised failings across the criminal justice system – see the report here