The episode dealt with BWS, or battered woman's syndrome. In order for a woman to suffer from BWS she must have gone through two complete battering cycles: the tension-building phase, the explosion phase, and the honeymoon phase (Dr. Lenore E. Walker, Family Law Advisor 1). Over a fifteen-year period, with children involved, as there were in this case, a woman would go through the cycle numerous times. The cycle allows a woman to both fear and love her significant other. After he explodes, then he apologizes in the honeymoon phase for his behavior, and often promises to get help (Lee D. Millar Bidwell, Sociology of the Family: Investigating Family Issues 399).

Throughout the episode, the Executive ADA, Jack, kept implying that because this woman hired someone to kill her husband, the act was premeditated murder. However, if she had been able to pull the trigger herself, he would have seen it as self-defense. This implies that a woman who is battered must be willing to actually take the life of her significant other in order for society to protect her. Where do the rights of the abused become as important as the rights of the abuser? How many women who are abused can actually kill? The two concepts do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. Yet, women who leave their abusive partners run a 75 percent greater chance than those who stay of being killed by their batterers ("Myths and Facts" as quoted in Bidwell 398). Also, Jack's comment means nothing when you realize that as of June 1991, there were 2,000 battered women in this country serving prison time for defending themselves (Stacey Kabat, remarks from presentation at Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Health Communication, June 1991).

In the episode, the woman claims that she borrowed a gun from a friend in order to kill her husband. However, she could not bring herself to pull the trigger. Would Jack really not have prosecuted her if she had been able to? I think that he would have tried her for manslaughter if he didn't think that he could get her on murder one. He would claim that she could leave her husband instead of having him killed. This disregards the symptoms of BWS. The abused has many reasons why he or she may stay: economic dependence, fear, no place to go, shame and self-blame, love and hope, for the kids, and fear of loneliness (Bidwell 396-401).

The episode developed many of these symptoms within the main character; and there are many symptoms of BWS that are not visible in a victim unless one has more than one hour to view them. She was economically dependent upon her husband: he was in stocks and in control of the money in the family. After years of abuse, and finally his threat, "I'm going to kill you and then I'm going to Hawaii," it is easy to see why she would fear him. She felt that she had no place to go: she went to her mother's…he showed up in the kitchen; she went to her sister's…he came banging at the door; she called the cops…he came home the next day, angrier than before. Also, studies have shown that the average battered woman leaves her husband seven times before leaving him permanently (Bidwell 397). Even though the issue of her guilt for the abuse was not addressed in the episode, it is likely that she felt some responsibility, since up to 53 percent of battered women blame themselves for the violence (Bidwell 399). Studies have shown that most women believe that their batterer will change so strongly that hope often becomes their motivating factor for remaining in a relationship (Bidwell 400). One character, the DA, Nora, was the only voice of reason. "He beat her for years Jack." However, the episode ended with Jack McCoy, the Executive ADA's voice stating, "She got away with murder."

No one can know for certain what motivated this woman to kill her husband. However, this episode forced her to justify her husband's death without addressing her abuse. Had Jack still doubted the mounting evidence of her husband's abuse, then I too might question her intent. However, if knowing she was abused, and not knowing her true intent, we judge her guilty of murder, then we have relegated her and thousands of women to a position of slavery, with their husbands as the masters. With this act of judgment, we justify men beating their wives or significant others. The court of law that society affords condemns women. Is this the direction we want our society to go?

All we do know about this woman is that she tried to leave her husband, and just like other BWS victims, she felt trapped. We know that she went to emergency rooms with tremendous bruising and many broken bones. We know that BWS victims in upper class families often tend to hide the violence for fear of a greater social stigma (Bidwell 394). Therefore, all we can surmise is that she probably fits the standard symptoms of BWS. This includes the feeling of desperation and of fear for her life. If I put myself into her position, I'm not certain how differently I would have acted. The death of her husband was her last act of self-defense.

The ADA, Southerlyn, actually states that if women want to claim the physical abilities to participate in previously male-dominated industries, such as fire fighting, then they cannot be victims of domestic violence at home. This completely ignorant assumption is premised in the very title of the episode, "Equal Rights." This also assumes that BWS is simply mind over matter. That is, that women consciously choose to be abused by their partners. And if they do not, then perhaps they do belong in the home championing the rights of battered women instead of in the workplace. She ignored the fact that BWS is a subgroup of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, a recognized form of mental illness by the American Psychological Association (Family Law Advisor 2). She also set women's rights back by about 50 years.

Not only does the episode disregard women who are victims of BWS, but also men who are victims. At one point, Jack states that although women can be abused by their husbands, "men can't." This statement implies that men cannot have physical relationships with other men, and still be abused. Considering the statistics, that the cases of domestic violence in heterosexual couples with those in the homosexual community are virtually equal (Bidwell 411), this is a misleading statement. It also allows for the continued misunderstanding and misrepresentation of the gay community. The statement also disregards men who are abused by their female partners; according to the Conflict Tactics Scale, men and women commit violent acts against one another in almost equal percentages (Bidwell 394). The difference is not in the act, but generally the fear behind it, for "men rarely feel the fear and intimidation from the violence that women do" (Bidwell 394).

The show draws in its audience by making them feel as if it represents reality: justice is not always served. However, justice becomes whatever position the show takes. In this case, the show held a strongly conservative viewpoint. This can be seen with Nora's voice constantly being silenced, and by ending the show with Jack's statement, "She got away with murder." The episode was especially dangerous in our society because many people do not accept just how potent domestic violence really is. It therefore protects the batterers by helping give them social justification, as if the victims deserved it. Many people also misunderstand the concept of domestic violence. If watching a show such as "Law & Order" is their only source of knowledge on the subject, imagine how closed-minded they will remain.

Kati Morris is a student at Santa Monica College.