DOMESTIC VIOLENCE : PART 2 -> HE DESERVERED IT

Today, I met a woman who talked about being domestically abused. Her name is Martha. Her husband was extremely violent and beat her and her children with whatever he could lay his hands on at that moment for the flimsiest excuses. They were always running and he would chase them arms pumping, knees high, belts or wires flailing madly in his hands. The running was constant and had become a part of life for them. After almost twenty years of marriage, he came home from work on day, and as he walked into the sitting room, she pumped eight bullets into his chest and torso; he was dead before he hit the floor.

She served a prison sentence of five years and was released a year ago for good behavior. When asked why she shot her husband, she replied,

           "I didn't kill him because he was 
             going to beat me that day;
              I killed him because he was 
            going to beat me for the rest 
             of my life". 

A lot of people advised her to stay in her marriage when she spoke of leaving, telling her it was her cross to bear, or to pray to God. Those people now tell her to thank God she killed him. The bottom line is some societal norms are absolute nonsense. No one deserves to be beaten in the name of marriage. Marriages are partnerships and both parties should treat each other with equal respect. I wonder if wherever the man is, he wishes he could have done things differently. I personally believe she should have killed him sooner and spared herself and her children some trauma.