Mitigating Circumstances

Last night, Putz noted the release from prison of Mary Winkler, who was convicted of manslaughter for killing husband. She served 67 days. So far as I can ascertain, Putz first mentioned the case here, opining that Winkler was "getting away with murder." (She wasn't, of course, unless a prison sentence that greatly exceeds Scooter Libby's is without meaning.) He linked to his wife, who, predictably enraged, sputtered, "Unbelievably, in the news story I watched--her old Knoxville neighbors were being interviewed and all shown were "supportive" of Mary."

Whether her sentence was just is not my concern. I mention this simply to note what is missing from Putz's and Dr. Mrs. Putz's coverage -- the mitigating circumstances of the case.

SELMER, Tenn. — A preacher's wife accused of murdering her husband told a psychologist that he often threatened her with a shotgun and forced her to have sex, the psychologist testified Tuesday.

Dr. Lynne Zager said Mary Winkler also told her that, on the day of the fatal shooting, her husband tried to stop their 1-year-old daughter from crying by placing his hands over the baby's nose and mouth.

Prosecution witnesses have described former Decatur resident Matthew Winkler, a 31-year-old preacher at the Fourth Street Church of Christ in this West Tennessee town, as a good father and husband.

But the defense says he terrorized his family and criticized his wife's every move.

[snip]

The psychologist said Mary Winkler suffered from mild depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, which started at age 13 when her sister died and got worse because her husband abused her. She could not have formed the intent to commit a crime because of her compromised mental condition, Zager said.

The AP says that "jurors convicted [Winkler] of the lesser charge after she testified that her husband abused her and demanded sex she considered unnatural."

Surely this is worth mentioning! Or perhaps not, since it doesn't fit into Putz's and Dr. Mrs. Putz's narrative that men are oppressed and emasculated. Maybe being forced to have sex is a small price to pay if your husband is "doing dishes, watching the kids and earning much of the money all the while feeling guilty if anyone is unhappy with them."