The Appellate Division, Second Department, has upheld the conviction and sentence of a woman who used two guns to kill the husband she said had violently abused her throughout 24 years of marriage. A Queens Supreme Court jury, in a trial that became a test of the battered women’s defense, acquitted Barbara Sheehan of second-degree murder but found her guilty of gun possession, for which she was given a determinate sentence of five years in prison. Deferring to the jury’s opportunity to hear the testimony, view the witnesses, and observe the demeanor, a unanimous Second Department panel said it was "satisfied" that the verdict was not contrary to the weight of the evidence.
A majority of the panel of Justices Mark Dillon (See Profile), Cheryl Chambers (See Profile) and L. Priscilla Hall (See Profile) also affirmed that the sentence meted out by Acting Justice Barry Kron (See Profile) was "appropriate and not excessive." However, Justice Ruth Balkin (See Profile) said she would have reduced the penalty in the interest of justice. The case was argued on Dec. 5, 2012.
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