Sentence reduced for wife who killed husband under strong provocation

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of October 29, the Supreme People's Court of Appeal in Hanoi held an appeal trial at the provincial People's Court headquarters in the case of Truong Thi Bai (born in 1960, residing in Nghia Khanh commune, Nghia Dan) for murder and reduced the defendant Bai's sentence by one year.

According to the conclusion of the first instance judgment, Bai's criminal behavior was clarified: in 1984, Bai married Mr. Dang Cong Toan (born 1961). During the first 20 years of living together, they had 5 daughters, and their married life did not have any significant conflicts. But from 2002, Mr. Toan fell into alcoholism.

Defendant Truong Thi Bai at trial

When drunk, he often comes home to scold and beat his wife and children, chasing them out of the house. Many times, Ms. Bai and her children had to run to a neighbor's house for refuge, but Mr. Toan still went to the neighbor's house to scold them, demanding that the neighbor not let Ms. Bai and her children sleep there anymore. Many times the local authorities had to come down to make a record, impose administrative fines, and give warnings. After a few days, Toan was back to his old ways.

On the evening of February 21, 2014, Mr. Toan went out drinking and when he came home, he was drunk. He scolded his wife again and forced her to go to work on the morning of the 30th and the first day of Tet or else he would "cut Bai's daughter eight times". Knowing that her husband was drunk, Bai said, "Shut up, why are you cursing so much?" Toan beat his wife and children and forced them to go to the chicken coop to sleep. Ms. Bai and her youngest child took a blanket and went to the chicken coop to sleep. Near dawn, Bai got up to cook rice and Toan came home drunk.

Toan cursed and beat his wife. Bai pushed her husband away and ran out into the street. At about 6:40, Bai entered the house and saw her husband sitting on the bed, nodding off. When she returned, Toan grabbed her by the collar and threatened to beat her. Seeing a knife under the bed, Bai took it and slashed her husband's head many times, causing the victim to die. After committing the crime, Truong Thi Bai went to the Nghia Dan District Police Department to confess.

On July 17, the first instance court sentenced defendant Bai to four years in prison for murder. Afterwards, Ms. Bai’s children, Mr. Toan’s younger brother, and the Provincial People’s Procuracy Chief all filed appeals and protests against the first instance verdict.

After evaluating and reviewing the entire content of the case, the panel of judges determined that the cause of the defendant Bai's crime stemmed from the abuse of her husband - the victim, over a long period of time and was excessively suppressed, leading to the crime, so there was a basis to consider reducing the sentence for the defendant. The Court of Appeal changed the charge from murder to murder in a state of extreme agitation and sentenced Truong Thi Bai to 3 years in prison.

Khang Hoa