Bureau of Justice Statistics

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Spouse Murder Defendants 

in Large Urban Counties

In spouse murder cases, wife defendants were less likely to be convicted 

and to receive severe sentences than husband defendants

(Average prison term:

6 years)

(Average prison term:

16.5 years)

Sentenced to

Sentenced to

Of 318 husbands

Of 222 wives

11 % Not prosecuted

46 % Pleaded guilty

41 % Convicted at trial

 2 % Acquitted at trial

16 % Not prosecuted

39 % Pleaded guilty

31 % Convicted at trial

14 % Acquitted at trial

Probation 5 %

Jail 1 %

Probation 12 %

Jail 1 %

Prison 57 %

Prison 81 %
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Spouse Murder

Defendants in Large

Urban Counties

By Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D.

BJS Statistician

and John M. Dawson

former BJS Statistician

September 1995, NCJ-153256
U.S. Department of Justice

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D.

Director

Patrick A. Langan, Ph.D., Statistician, 

Bureau of Justice Statistics, and John

M. Dawson, former BJS Statistician,

wrote this report. Substantial assistance was provided by Lawrence A.

Greenfeld. Tom Hester edited and

Jayne Robinson produced the report.

Data presented in this report may be 

obtained from the National Archive of

Criminal Justice Data at the University 

of Michigan, 1-800-999-0960. The

name of the dataset is Murder in Large

Urban Counties, 1988 (ICPSR 9907).

Highlights iii

Survey of murder defendants 1

Characteristics of spouse 

murder defendants 2

Spouse murder cases disposed 

by the prosecutor 5

Spouse murder cases disposed 

by trial verdict 6

Spouse murder cases disposed 

by guilty plea 11

Overview of case disposition 

of spouse murder defendants 15

Sentencing of defendants 

convicted of killing their spouse 17

Processing time in spouse

murder cases 20

Less severe dispositions for

wife defendants: 

Summary of evidence 21

Race in spouse murder cases 24

Methodology 25

ii Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 

Contents
Number of spouse murder 

defendants and their demographic

characteristics

In 1988, the justice system in the 

Nation's 75 largest counties disposed

of an estimated 540 spouse murder

cases. Husbands charged with killing

their wife outnumbered wives charged

with killing their husband. Of the 540,

318  or 59%  were husband 

defendants and 222  or 41%  

were wife defendants.

Blacks comprised 55% of the 540 

defendants and whites comprised

43%. Among husband defendants

51% were black and 45% were white.

Among wife defendants 61% were

black and 39% were white. In 97% of

the murders, both spouses were the

same race. 

Ages of spouse murder defendants

ranged from 18 to 87. The average

age was 39. The average age of husband defendants was 41; of wife 

defendants, 37 years. 

Arrest charge

First-degree murder was the most frequent charge at arrest, accounting for

70% of defendants. In descending

order of seriousness, charges were

distributed this way across the 540

spouse murder defendants:

 70% first-degree murder 

 24% second-degree murder 

 6% nonnegligent manslaughter

How the justice system disposed 

of spouse murder cases

Cases were disposed of in one of three

ways: 

(1) the prosecutor declined to 

prosecute; or

(2) the defendant pleaded not guilty,

stood trial, and was either acquitted

or convicted; or

(3) the defendant pleaded guilty.

Of the 540 spouse murder defendants,

232  or 43%  pleaded guilty to killing their spouse and 238  or 44% 

pleaded not guilty and stood trial. The

remaining 70 persons  or 13% 

were not prosecuted.

Outcome for spouse murder 

defendants who pleaded not 

guilty and stood trial

Of the 238 who pleaded not guilty,

63% were tried by a jury and the

remaining 37% were tried by a judge.

Together, judges and juries acquitted

16% of the 238 spouse murder defendants and convicted 84%  or 199

persons  of killing their spouse.

Bench trials (trials before a judge) had

a higher acquittal rate than jury trials:

26% of bench trials ended in acquittal,

versus 11% of jury trials.

Defendants convicted of killing

their spouse

Of the 540 spouse murder defendants,

431 (or 80%) were ultimately convicted

of killing their spouse. Their conviction

was the result of either pleading guilty

(232 persons) or being convicted at

trial (199 persons).

While most persons arrested (70%)

for spouse murder were charged with

first-degree murder, most persons 

convicted (52%) of spouse murder had

negligent or nonnegligent manslaughter as their conviction offense.

Sentences for defendants convicted

of killing their spouse

Of the 431 defendants convicted of killing their spouse, 89% were sentenced

to a State prison, 1% were sentenced

to a county jail, and the remaining 10%

received a sentence of straight probation (no prison or jail confinement).

An estimated 12% of the 431 convicted

spouse murderers received a sentence

to life imprisonment and 1% received

the death penalty.

Excluding life and death sentences,

the average prison term imposed 

was 13 years.

Wife defendants less likely to be

convicted 

Wife defendants had a lower conviction rate than husband defendants  

 Of the 222 wife defendants, 70%

were convicted of killing their mate. 

By contrast, of the 318 husband 

defendants, 87% were convicted 

of spouse murder.

 Of the 100 wife defendants tried 

by either a judge or jury, 31% were

acquitted. But of the 138 husbands 

tried, 6% were acquitted.

 Of the 59 wife defendants tried by a

jury, 27% were acquitted. But of the

estimated 91 husband defendants tried

by a jury, none was acquitted.

Convicted wife defendants

sentenced less severely

An estimated 156 wives and 275 

husbands were convicted of killing their

spouse. Convicted wives were less

likely than convicted husbands to be

sentenced to prison, and convicted

wives received shorter prison sentences than their male counterparts 

 81% of convicted wives but 94% 

of convicted husbands received a

prison sentence.

 On average, convicted wives 

received prison sentences that were

about 10 years shorter than what

husbands received. Excluding life or

death sentences, the average prison

sentence for killing a spouse was 6

years for wives but 16.5 years for

husbands.

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties iii

Highlights
 Among wives sentenced to prison,

15% received a sentence of 20 years

or more (including life imprisonment

and the death penalty); among husbands, it was 43%.

Victim provocation more often 

present in wife defendant cases

According to information contained in

prosecutor files, more wife defendants

(44%) than husband defendants (10%)

had been assaulted by their spouse

(threatened with a weapon or physically assaulted) at or around the time

of the murder.

Self-defense as possible explanation for wives' lower conviction rate

In certain circumstances, extreme

victim provocation may justify taking a

life in self-defense. Provocation was

more often present in wife defendant

cases, and wife defendants were less

likely than husband defendants to be

convicted, suggesting that the relatively high rate of victim provocation

characteristic of wife defendant cases

was one of the reasons wife defendants had a lower conviction rate

than husband defendants. Consistent

with that, of the provoked wife defendants, 56% were convicted, significantly lower than either the 86% conviction rate for unprovoked wife defendants or the 88% conviction rate 

for unprovoked husbands.

No explanation for why State prison

sentences were, on average, 10

years shorter for wife defendants

than husband defendants

Wives received shorter prison sentences than husbands (a 10-year difference, on average) even when the

comparison is restricted to defendants

who were alike in terms of whether or

not they were provoked 

 The average prison sentence for

unprovoked wife defendants was 7

years, or 10 years shorter than the 

average 17 years for unprovoked 

husband defendants.

Victim's race unrelated to outcomes

The victim was black in 55% of cases

and white in 43%. The likelihood of a

defendant being convicted of spouse

murder was about the same whether

the murder victim was white or black.

Among spouse murder defendants

whose victim was white, 81% were

convicted. Among those whose victim

was black, 79% were convicted. 

Likewise, the sentence was unrelated

to the victim's race. The likelihood of a

convicted spouse murderer receiving a

prison sentence was about the same

whether the murder victim was white 

or black: the convicted spouse murderer was sentenced to prison in 93%

of cases where the victim was white,

not significantly different from the 87%

of cases where the victim was black.

The length of the prison sentence 

imposed on a convicted spouse murderer was generally unrelated to

whether the murder victim was white 

or black 

 For conviction for first-degree 

murder, the average prison term

(excluding life and death sentences)

was 29 years in white-victim cases, not

significantly different from the 32 years

in black-victim cases.

 For conviction for second-degree

murder, the average prison term (excluding life sentences) was 19 years

in white-victim cases, significantly

longer than the 13 years in black-victim

cases. However, 23% of convicted

second-degree murder defendants in

black-victim cases received a sentence

of life imprisonment, compared to 8%

of defendants in white-victim cases.

 For conviction for nonnegligent

manslaughter, the average prison term

(excluding life sentences) was 8 years 

in white-victim cases, not significantly 

different from the average 6 years 

in black-victim cases.

Defendant's race unrelated to

outcomes

The likelihood of conviction, and of a

prison sentence if convicted, and the

length of the prison sentence were

about the same whether the spouse

murder defendant was white or 

black 

 78% of white defendants were convicted, not significantly different from

the 80% of black defendants.

 Among convicted spouse murderers,

93% of white defendants were sentenced to prison, not significantly 

different from the 88% of black defendants.

Processing time

Three measures of processing time

were taken from the day of the murder

 to arrest, to indictment, and to final

disposition. Most spouse murder defendants were arrested on the same

day the killing occurred. Average time

to indictment was 4 months. Average

time to final disposition was almost exactly 1 year.

For husbands tried by a jury, 12 1⁄2

months was the average elapsed time

from the day of the murder to the conclusion of the jury trial. For wives tried

by a jury it was significantly longer,

about 18 1⁄2 months.

iv Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 
In 1988 State prosecutors, judges, and

juries across the 75 most populous

U.S. counties convicted, acquitted, or

otherwise disposed of an estimated

9,600 murder defendants. Six percent

 or an estimated 540 defendants 

were persons charged with murdering

their spouse.

Information on the 540 comes from a

representative sample of murder cases

disposed of in 1988. The sample was

drawn from State prosecutor files in 33

of the 75 counties. The counties were

widely scattered, from Los Angeles

and San Diego, Denver and Dallas, to

Philadelphia and Dade County (Miami).

For each defendant, data collectors

filled out a lengthy questionnaire and

prepared a brief narrative from file information. Prosecutor files include

such items as the police arrest report,

investigator reports, and information on

how the case was disposed. Questionnaires and narratives are the

sources of data for this report.

The 75 largest counties are where a

little over half of all murders in the 

Nation occur.1

 Consequently, survey

results summarized in this report have

broad relevance because they are

from the courts where the majority of

the Nation's murder trials are held.

This case processing study of spouse 

murder defendants is the most geographically comprehensive study on

the topic. While the survey covers

murder cases processed 7 years ago

in 1988, the Bureau of Justice Statistics knows from long experience with

surveying courts that changes in case

processing are quite gradual. The report's results are therefore likely to be

applicable today. 

The same database used in this 

report was previously analyzed by

John M. Dawson and Barbara Boland

(Murder in Large Urban Counties,

1988, BJS Special Report,

NCJ-140614, May 1993) and by John

M. Dawson and Patrick A. Langan

(Murder in Families, BJS Special 

Report, NCJ-143498, July 1994).

Survey of murder defendants

1

The Nation consists of 3,109 counties; thus,

murders are concentrated in a relatively small

number of places.

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 1
Sex of defendant

Husbands outnumbered wives as

spouse murder defendants. Of the

540 defendants, 318  or 59% 

were husbands charged with killing

their wife, and 222  or 41%  were

wives charged with killing their husband (table 1). By definition, the 540

included no divorced couples but did

include both common-law and separated spouses.2

Year and location of murder

About eighty percent of the alleged

murders that were disposed of in 1988

occured in 1988 or 1987 (table 2). The

rest were earlier, dating to 1975 in one

case. Nearly 90% took place in the

home.

Time to arrest

In about 80% of cases, defendants

were arrested either on the day of the

murder or on the following day. 

Murder weapon

More of the wives (95%) than the 

husbands (69%) used a gun or knife 

to inflict death (table 3). For a smaller

person to kill a larger person (such as

for a wife to kill her husband), a lethal

weapon is generally required.

Race and age of defendants

Of the 540 defendants, 55% were

black and 43% were white. Among

husbands charged with spouse murder, 51% were black and 45% were

white (table 4). Among wives charged,

61% were black and 39% were white.

Ninety-seven percent of the murders

were intraracial. One percent were

black husbands killing white wives.

Other interracial murders  either

white husbands killing black wives,

white wives killing black husbands, or

black wives killing white husbands 

accounted for the remaining 2%.3

Ages of spouse murder defendants

ranged from 18 to 87. On average,

spouse murder defendants (mean 

age 39) were considerably older than 

murder defendants overall (mean 

age 28). The average age of husband 

defendants was 41 years; of wife 

defendants, 37 years. 

Arrest charge

 

The sample consisted exclusively of

persons charged with (in descending

order of seriousness) first-degree 

murder, second- (or third-) degree 

murder, or nonnegligent (or voluntary)

manslaughter 

First-degree murder is premeditated

murder (for example, murder by 

poisoning, murder while lying in wait)

or felony murder (for example, rapemurder, robbery-murder).

Second- (or third-) degree murder is 

all other murder.

Nonnegligent manslaughter is willful

killing, without premeditation, in the

heat of passion.

Less serious classes of homicide  

namely, negligent manslaughter and

justifiable homicide  were not

Table 1. Spouse murder defendants 

in 75 largest counties, 1988

Murder

defendant

Total

number

Percent 

of total

 All 540* 100%

Husband 318 59

Wife 222 41

* Excludes divorced persons but does include

common-law and separated spouses.

Table 2. Spouse murder defendants:

Year and location of murder, and time

to arrest, 1988

Percent of spouse

murder defendants

Year of murder

All 100%

1988 30

1987 48

1986 14

1985 3

1984 4

Pre-1984 1

Murder location

All 100%

Victim's home 86

Elsewhere 14

How long after murder

defendant was arrested

All 100%

Same day 62

Next day 17

Later 21

Table 3. Spouse murder defendants: Weapons used, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants

Firearms

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

All

types Handgun Shotgun Rifle Knife Other*

 All 540 100% 53% 45% 4% 4% 26% 21%

Husband 318 100 50 41 6 3 19 31

Wife 222 100 58 51 2 5 37 5

*Hands, feet etc.

Characteristics of spouse murder defendants

3

Historical data for the United States indicate that

the risk of spouse murder is over 7 times greater

for spouses in interracial than intraracial marriages. See James A. Mercy and Linda E. Saltzman, "Fatal Violence among Spouses in the

United States, 1976-85," American Journal of

Public Health, May 1989, Vol. 79, No 5.

2

Case narratives indicate that 8% were separated,

but the actual figure was probably greater than

that because separation status was probably not

always recorded.

2 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 
sampled. However, some defendants

initially charged with one of the more

serious homicides were ultimately 

convicted of negligent homicide. Likewise, some initially charged with criminal homicide were later exonerated on

grounds they acted in self-defense.

First-degree murder was the predominant initial charge. Charges were 

distributed in this way 

 first-degree murder: 70% 

 second-degree murder: 24% 

 nonnegligent manslaughter: 6% 

(table 5)

Similarities between defendants

Certain characteristics did not vary 

significantly between husband defendants and wife defendants 

(table 6) 

Number of victims

 4% of husbands and 1% of wives

had been charged with killing more

than one person.4

Percentage that were contract killings

 3% of husbands and 6% of wives 

had been charged with a contract

killing.

Percentage with history of mental

illness

 11% of husband defendants 

and 15% of wife defendants had a

history of mental illness.

Percentage that involved a firearm

 50% of husbands and 58% of wives

had used a firearm.

Differences between defendants

Certain characteristics did vary significantly between husband defendants

and wife defendants 

 More husbands (20%) than wives

(10%) had killed in a fit of jealousy

over the mate's real or imagined 

infidelity.

Table 5. Spouse murder defendants: Arrest offense, 1988

Percent of arrest offenses

of spouse murder defendants

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

Firstdegree

murder

Seconddegree 

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

 All 540 100% 70% 24% 6%

Husband 318 100 69 28 3

Wife 222 100 71 18 11

Table 6. Spouse murder defendants: Defendant use of firearm, history 

of mental illness, charged with multiple or contract murder, motivation, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants

Murder

defendant

Total

number Firearm use

History 

of mental 

illness

Multiple

murder

Contract

murder

Murder 

motivated

by jealousy

 All 540 53% 13% 3% 4% 16%

Husband 318 50 11 4 3 20

Wife 222 58 15 1 6 10

Table 4. Spouse murder defendants: Race and age, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants

Race Age (in years)

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total White Black Other 18-19 20-29 30-59 60 or older

Mean

age

 All 540 100% 43% 55% 2% 1% 22% 66% 11% 39 yrs

Husband 318 100 45 51 4 0 14 74 12 41

Wife 222 100 39 61 0 2 33 55 10 37

4

Counting as multiple murder all those committed

against pregnant women, the percentage of men

with multiple victims then becomes 5%, a conservative estimate since pregnancy was not recorded in

every case.

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 3
 More husbands (31%) than wives

(9%) had a history of drug abuse

(table 7).

 More husbands (22%) than wives

(3%) had been using drugs at the time

of the murder.

 More husbands (66%) than wives

(37%) had been drinking alcohol at the

time of the murder.5

 

Table 7. Spouse murder defendants:

Substance abuse by defendants,

1988

Percent of spouse 

murder defendants

Drug use

Murder

defendant

At time

of murder In past

Alcohol use 

at time of

murder

 All 14% 22% 55%

Husband 22 31 66

Wife 3 9 37

Note: Of the 540 cases, drug use at the time 

of murder was known in 255; in past, 540; 

alcohol use, 335.

5

Altogether, 55% of defendants were drinking at

the time of the murder. Drinking, either by the defendant or the victim, was involved in 66% of

cases.

4 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
Following the defendant's arrest, 

prosecutors review the case, deciding

whether to screen it out or to prosecute.6

Of the 540 defendants, 70  or 13% 

 were not prosecuted. Prosecutors

did not screen out significantly more 

of the wives than the husbands 

 16% of wives and 11% of husbands

were not prosecuted (table 8).

Most of the wives not prosecuted were

screened out because prosecutors

concluded from the evidence that

these wives had killed their husband in

self-defense. By contrast, self-defense

was rarely the reason prosecutors

gave for not prosecuting husbands.

For husbands, reasons were more 

diverse: he committed suicide after

killing his wife; he took her life in a

mercy killing or in a gun accident.

Table 8. Spouse murder defendants:

Percent prosecuted, 1988

Percent of spouse 

murder defendants

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

Prosecuted

Not

prosecuted

 All 540 100% 87% 13%

Husband 318 100 89 11

Wife 222 100 84 16

Dallas case #79 The wife (the victim) is

89 and has been married 65 years. A

recent stroke leaves her in terrible pain.

She pleads with the doctor to kill her.

The doctor refuses. The 87-year-old

husband goes to the hospital and shoots

her. He is immediately arrested. 

New Orleans case #54 For years, the

43-year-old husband (the victim), a dry

cleaner operator, has beaten his

35-year-old wife. At the time of the murder the two are fighting, and the husband stabs her in the back. She grabs

the knife and stabs him, causing him to

bleed to death. She is arrested the

same day. She claims self-defense, and

the victim's family voices no objection.

New Orleans case #95 The 28-yearold husband (the victim) has a long history of assaulting his 25-year-old wife.

At the time of the murder a witness sees

the husband in the kitchen chasing the

wife with a machete in his hand. The

fight ends when the wife stabs the husband once. She is arrested the same

day and claims self-defense.

Los Angeles case #21 During an argument the 50-year-old housewife (the victim) pulls out a gun and threatens to kill

her 39-year-old unemployed husband.

The two struggle. He flees the house

and gets in his car. She moves in front

of the car, raises the gun and takes aim.

He runs over her. He is arrested a day

later.

*Case numbers are those assigned

in the dataset. Notes are not necessarily complete in having all relevant

details.

Columbus (OH) case #2 The wife, age

75, has mental problems. One morning,

while her husband (the victim), a

75-year-old retired welder, is still asleep,

she stabs him to death. She says she

heard a voice tell her to kill him.

Orange County (CA) case #64 When

police arrive at the scene, they find the

body of the wife (the victim) with 15

stab wounds and the husband's body

with 5. Police believe there was an argument, the husband stabbed the wife in

a struggle, and then sliced his own neck.

Both have been dead for 1 or 2 days.

San Diego case #89 Three weeks before the murder the 32-year-old husband

beats his 35-year-old wife (the victim)

severely. She tells others that next time

he is going to kill her. She wants a divorce, but he wants a reconciliation. On

the day of the murder, the two are at a

bar, and he is drinking. Later a witness

sees her outside a car in the middle of

the street. The wife screams, then

slumps to the ground, dying from multiple stab wounds in the chest. The husbands flees the scene. Later he is found

dead from a drug overdose.

Orlando (FL) case #7 The husband

comes home drunk and demands

money from his wife. She refuses, and

he attacks her with a metal pipe. She

gets a butcher knife from the kitchen

and stabs him once through the heart.

Spouse murder defendants not prosecuted

Notes taken on prosecutors' records*

Spouse murder cases disposed by the prosecutor

6

As used throughout the report, cases "disposed

by the prosecutor" include cases screened out,

rejected, declined for prosecution, cases classified as nolle prosequi, and cases in which the

judge dismissed charges.

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 5 
Overall, 44% of spouse murder defendants pleaded not guilty and stood

trial. Percentages standing trial were

nearly identical for husband defendants and wife defendants 

 45% of wives and 43% of husbands

stood trial (table 9).

Convictions and acquittals

Among spouse murder defendants

who stood trial, 16% were acquitted

and 84% were convicted. Judges and

juries acquitted more wives than

husbands 

 31% of wives who stood trial were

acquitted, compared to just 6% of

husbands (table 10).

Insanity acquittals, however, were

equally likely 

 Among spouses who stood trial, 3%

of wives and husbands were found not

guilty by reason of insanity.7

Those who went to trial and those 

ultimately convicted at trial did not 

differ in terms of arrest offense 

 Most of those who went to trial (69%)

(table 11) and most of those who were

convicted at trial (70%) had firstdegree murder as their arrest offense

(table 12). About 2% had a nonnegligent manslaughter arrest.

Table 10. Spouse murder defendants who stood trial: 

Percent acquitted, 1988

Percent of spouse murder 

defendants who stood trial

Acquitted

Murder

defendant

Number 

standing trial Total Total

Insanity

acquittal Convicted

 All 238 100% 16% 3% 84%

Husband 138 100 6 3 94

Wife 100 100 31 3 69

Table 9. Spouse murder defendants:

Percent tried, 1988

Percent of spouse 

murder defendants

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total Stood trial

Not

tried

 All 540 100% 44% 56%

Husband 318 100 43 57

Wife 222 100 45 55

Table 11. Spouse murder defendants who stood trial: 

Arrest offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants who

stood trial and whose arrest offense was 

Murder

defendant

Number 

standing trial Total

First-degree

murder

Second-degree

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

 All 238 100% 69% 29% 2%

Husband 138 100 68 30 2

Wife 100 100 70 27 3

Table 12. Defendants convicted at trial of killing their spouse:

Arrest and conviction offense, 1988

Percent of tried and convicted spouse murder defendants

Murder

defendant

Number tried

and convicted Total

First-degree

murder

Second-degree

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

Negligent

manslaughter

Weapon

offense

Arrest offense

All 199 100% 70% 27% 3% 0% 0%

Husband 130 100 68 30 2 0 0

Wife 69 100 76 21 3 0 0

Conviction offense

All 199 100% 35% 31% 24% 9% 1%

Husband 130 100 37 30 22 10 1

Wife 69 100 32 33 29 6 0

Spouse murder cases disposed by trial verdict

7

The number who pleaded not guilty by reason of

insanity but who were convicted is unknown.

6 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
However, trial conviction offenses were

less serious than arrest offenses 

 Among those convicted at trial, 70%

had first-degree murder as their arrest

offense but 35% had first-degree murder as their conviction offense. A

quarter of those convicted at trial had

nonnegligent manslaughter as their

conviction offense.

The reduction from first-degree murder

to a lesser charge did not occur at indictment: Of all trial defendants, 95%

were indicted at the same level as their

arrest offense. Nor did the small number of first-degree murder convictions

result from a higher rate of acquittal:

Acquittal rates did not vary significantly

by charge level.

Rather, the reason might have been

that the evidence did not support conviction to the highest charge, or perhaps juries could seldom agree on

conviction to the highest level. Whatever the reason, where there was a

conviction, it was to a lesser charge 

in about half of cases, whether the defendant was the wife or the husband 

 49% of wives and 47% of husbands

convicted at trial had a conviction offense less serious than their original

arrest offense (table 13).

Bench trials (trials before a judge) 

had a higher acquittal rate than jury 

trials 

 26% of bench trials ended in acquittal, versus 11% of jury trials (table 14).

Overall, 63% of defendants who stood

trial were tried by a jury, and the 

remaining 37% were tried by a judge.

Wives were not significantly more

likely than husbands to choose a

bench trial 

 41% of wife defendants and 34% of

husband defendants chose a bench

trial rather than a jury trial (table 15).

Wives were more likely than husbands

to be acquitted by a jury 

 Juries acquitted 27% of wives but

none of the husbands (table 16).8

Despite a sizable difference in the

bench trial acquittal rate between

wives and husbands, the difference

was not statistically significant, possibly because estimates were based on

too few sample cases 

 Judges acquitted 37% of wives and

17% of husbands (table 16).

Table 13. Defendants convicted at

trial of killing their spouse:

Convicted of arrest offense or lesser

offense, 1988

Percent of spouse 

murder defendants 

tried and convicted 

of 

Murder

defendant

Number

tried and

convicted Total

Arrest 

offense

Lesser

offense

 All 199 100% 52% 48%

Husband 130 100 53 47

Wife 69 100 51 49

Table 14. Spouse murder defendants

who stood trial: Percent acquitted, 

by trial type, 1988

Percent of spouse murder

defendants who stood trial

Type

 of

 trial

Number

standing

trial Total Acquitted Convicted

 All 238 100% 16% 84%

Jury 150 100 11 89

Bench 88 100 26 74

Table 15. Spouse murder

defendants who stood trial: 

Type of trial, 1988

Percent of spouse

murder defendants

who stood trial

Murder

defendant

Number

standing trial Total Jury Bench

 All 238 100% 63% 37%

Husband 150 100 66 34

Wife 88 100 59 41

Table 16. Spouse murder defendants

who stood trial: Percent acquitted,

by trial type, 1988

Percent of spouse

murder defendants 

who stood trial

Type of trial

and murder

defendant

Number

standing trial TotalAcquittedConvicted

Jury trial

 All 150 100% 11% 89%

Husband 91 100 0 100

Wife 59 100 27 73

Bench trial

 All 88 100% 26% 74%

Husband 47 100 17 83

Wife 41 100 37 63

8

The unweighted sample size was 34 husbands

tried before a jury. Not one of the 34 was acquitted. Extrapolated to the 75 largest counties, the

34 represent an estimated 91 cases.

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 7 
Sentencing of those convicted at trial

While wives were not significantly less

likely than husbands to receive a

prison sentence, the length of their

prison sentence was shorter than 

what husbands received 

 An estimated 82% of wives and

95% of husbands convicted at trial 

of killing their spouse received a 

prison sentence (table 17).9

 Wives convicted at trial received an

average sentence to prison of 10

years, 11 years shorter than what

husbands received (an average

21-year term in prison).

Table 17. Defendants convicted at trial of killing their spouse: 

Type of sentence, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants 

convicted at trial and sentenced to 

Murder

defendant

Number tried

and convicted Total Prison Jail Probation

Mean prison

term*

 All 199 100% 90% 3% 7% 17 years

Husband 130 100 95 2 3 21

Wife 69 100 82 3 15 10

*Excludes life and death sentences.

9

"Convicted of killing their spouse" is not precisely correct, since one of the defendants, a

husband, was convicted of only a weapon offense. All the rest were convicted of killing or

assisting in the killing of a spouse.

8 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
Miami case #84 The couple has an onagain, off-again relationship for 20 years.

Several weeks prior to the murder, she

sees her common-law husband (the victim) leave a motel with another woman.

Subsequently, the couple has several violent confrontations until one day she

shoots him. Outcome: The jury acquitted

her of all charges.

Chicago case #15 The couple is 

arguing when the 25-year-old wife finds a

love letter to her 25-year-old husband

(the victim, a fast-food restaurant employee) from a co-worker. The wife gets

a kitchen knife and stabs him. She

claims she was a victim of battered wife

syndrome and was only defending herself. Outcome: At a bench trial the judge

acquitted her.

Chicago case #28 The couple is 

arguing when the 64-year-old husband

(the victim) swings a pipe at his 34-yearold wife. She gets a knife and stabs him

to death. Outcome: The jury acquitted

her.

Chicago case #52 The 49-year-old 

husband (the victim) is drunk and gets

into an argument with his 50-year-old

wife. According to her, at some point he

throws a fan at her. She gets a knife and

lunges at him, cutting his abdomen. Outcome: The jury acquitted her.

Philadelphia case #47 The 35-year old

husband (the victim) comes home drunk

after work and begins fighting with his

31-year-old common-law wife over money

he is missing. The husband is throwing

things at the wife and her children until

she gets a knife and stabs the husband

once in the chest. Outcome: At a bench

trial the judge acquitted her.

Cambridge (MA) case #16 The

38-year-old husband has been hospitalized several times for mental illness. He

feels everyone is out to get him. He

comes home one evening and sees his

30-year-old wife (the victim) talking with a

friend. He immediately thinks she is talking about him, and he later strangles her.

Outcome: At a bench trial the judge

found him not guilty by reason 

of insanity.

Dallas case #65 The unemployed

58-year-old husband is released from a

mental hospital two weeks before the

murder. He fears his 56-year-old wife

(the victim), a secretary, will leave him for

another man and have him put back in

the mental hospital. He stabs her to

death. Outcome: At a bench trial the

judge found him not guilty by reason of

insanity.

St. Louis case #9 The wife, now age 42,

has grown increasingly depressed over

the years. On the day of the murder she

is so distraught she shoots her 51-yearold husband (the victim) several times in

the head while he is napping. Outcome:

The jury found her not guilty by reason of

insanity.

Detroit case #98 The two are out drinking. They return home and begin arguing. According to the wife, age 30, her

25-year-old husband (the victim) attacked

her. She grabs a knife and stabs him.

She claims he has beaten her before. No

witnesses are present at the time of the

murder. Outcome: She was acquitted of

second-degree murder at a bench trial.

Manhattan case #72 She, a 29-year-old

artist, has lived with her 47-year-old

common-law husband (the victim), a musician, for a few years. He frequently

beats, starves, and tortures her. He repeatedly tells her he is going to kill her.

For some time leading up to the murder,

he has not let her eat or shower. On the

day of the murder they are going to a bar

when she asks him to let her go home

because she is tired. He says "no" and

begins hitting her and calling her names.

The beating ends when she stabs him.

He has numerous past arrests and convictions. Outcome: The jury acquitted

her.

Spouse murder defendants who stood trial: Trial acquittals

Notes taken on prosecutors' records

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 9 
Oklahoma City case #24 The 59-year

old husband (the victim) comes home

intoxicated and continues drinking. His

52-year old wife claims he became violent

and began to beat her. She says she

shot him in self-defense. The prosecution

counters that there are no bruises or

other signs of a beating. The prosecution

contends she shot him while he lay in bed

sleeping. Outcome: The jury convicted

her of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Rochester (NY) case #26 Throughout

their turbulent 4-year marriage, the husband (the victim) verbally and physically

abuses his wife. She never once leaves

him, though. Prior to the night of the murder, the husband buys a gun and puts it

in his dresser. The night of the murder,

the husband is slapping the wife around,

telling her to get out of the house. He

calls the police to have her removed from

the premises. While he is on the phone,

telling police "she's a whore," the wife

grabs his gun and shoots him four times.

Outcome: The jury convicted her of 

second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Bakersfield (CA) case #34 The husband

(the victim) and wife jointly own a bar.

She claims he showed up at the bar angry at her about something and slapped

her. She says she became scared, saw a

gun, and shot him. The prosecution disputes that, contending instead she murdered him so that she would gain sole

ownership of the bar. Outcome: The jury

found her guilty of nonnegligent manslaughter. She was sentenced to 8 years

in prison.

Philadelphia case #169 They have been

married 20 years. Both are heavy drinkers. During an argument he, a longshoreman, hits his 53-year-old wife (the victim)

on the head, and several days later she

dies. Evidence is uncovered that she was

a battered wife. The couple's children

testify that he has beaten her for at least

15 years. She has been to hospitals

throughout the city for cuts and bruises

inflicted by him. He has a long history of

arrests and convictions. Outcome: The

jury convicted him of negligent manslaughter. He was sentenced to 3 years

in prison.

Oklahoma City case #1 The 35-year-old

husband has threatened his 29-year-old

wife (the victim) in the past. The threats

cause her to leave him. On the day of

the murder she is drinking and returns to

his apartment with her mother to get

clothes and food. He is there and also

has been drinking. He stabs to death

both her and her mother. He then flees.

He has numerous prior arrests and convictions. Outcome: The jury found him

guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to the death

penalty.

San Diego case #15 He, age 41, has

been sadistically abusing his 41-year-old

wife (the victim) for about 8 years. He

frequently binds, gags, and blindfolds her

and forces her to perform sex acts on

him. He sometimes cuts and burns her

while she is bound. A year prior to the

murder she calls the police following a

beating. He is arrested and convicted

and then thrown out of the Navy, terminating a 22-year career. Soon after, they

separate. On the night of the murder, he

has drunk about 20 beers and calls his

estranged wife, ordering her to take off

her clothes and await his arrival. When

he enters her apartment, she is nude and

holds out her wrists to him. He binds,

gags and blindfolds her, cuts her with a

knife, and wraps tape and rope around

her neck, strangling her. Hours later he is

arrested. He admits killing her and intending to do so for some time. He

blames her for ruining his career, saying

he was going to kill her sooner or later.

Outcome: The jury convicted him of firstdegree murder. He was sentenced to 26

years in prison.

Seattle case #32 Two weeks before the

murder, the 43-year-old husband, an aircraft worker, is jailed for assaulting his

31-year-old wife (the victim). She and the

children then move out of the house. On

the day of the murder the children are being watched by a babysitter in their new

lodgings. The wife returns home and the

husband appears out of hiding. He orders the babysitter to lie down and tells

the wife that she is going to watch the

babysitter die. He begins stabbing the

babysitter in the back, but the babysitter

breaks free. The husband turns his attack on the wife, who dies from multiple 

stab wounds. Outcome: The jury convicted him of first-degree murder. He 

was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Brooklyn case #54 The 52-year-old husband suspects his 45-year-old wife (the

victim) is having an affair. While at home

the two argue and she, a factory worker,

admits to the affair. He bludgeons her

with a hammer. Outcome: The jury

found him guilty of using a dangerous

weapon (other than a firearm). He was

sentenced to straight probation (no confinement in prison or jail).

Dallas case #178 The wife (the victim), 

a 24-year-old postal clerk, is having an affair with another man. The 26-year-old

husband arrives at the other man's house

and finds his wife in bed with the man.

The husband shoots and kills them both.

Outcome: The jury convicted him of two

counts of nonnegligent manslaughter. He

was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Riverside (CA) case #1 The husband

(the victim) beats and abuses his wife 

for many years. One night, after being

abused, she gets up, grabs a rifle and

shoots him while he is sleeping. She

then takes her children and flees. 

Outcome: The jury found her guilty 

of nonnegligent manslaughter. She was

sentenced to 8 years in prison.

Spouse murder defendants who stood trial: Trial convictions

Notes taken on prosecutors' records

10 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
Of the 540 defendants, 43% pleaded

guilty to killing their spouse. Wives

and husbands were about equally

likely to plead guilty 

 39% of wives and 46% of husbands

pleaded guilty to killing their spouse

(table 18).

The vast majority of pleas were to a reduced charge 

 Most of those who pleaded guilty

(67%) had first-degree murder as their

arrest offense (table 19). Ten percent

had nonnegligent manslaughter.

 The guilty plea was to first-degree

murder in just 10% of cases and to

nonnegligent manslaughter in 58% of

the spouse murder cases (table 19).

Comparing husbands and wives who

pleaded guilty to killing a spouse, wife

defendants were more likely than 

husband defendants to have been 

arrested for the least serious degree 

of murder, nonnegligent manslaughter

(19% of wives and 5% of husbands).

Having less serious arrest offenses 

in the first place, the offenses they

pleaded guilty to therefore tended also

to be less serious than those of

husbands 

 When wives pleaded guilty, the plea

was to manslaughter (negligent or nonnegligent) in 87% of cases; but when

husbands pleaded guilty, the plea was

to manslaughter in 60% (table 19).

Nevertheless, a plea to reduced

charges was no more likely among

wives than husbands 

 When wives pleaded guilty, the plea 

was to a reduced charge in 71% of

cases; and when husbands pleaded

guilty, the plea was to a reduced

charge about as often, in 76% 

of cases (table 20).

Sentencing of those who pleaded guilty

Probably the majority of guilty pleas

were the product of negotiation between the prosecution and the defense. In such negotiations a "bargain"

is struck. In exchange for the prosecutor reducing the seriousness or number of charges (a charge reduction),

the defendant agrees to plead guilty.

Or, in exchange for the prosecutor's

recommending a less severe sentence

(a sentence reduction), the defendant

agrees to plead guilty as charged.

Plea bargains have advantages for

both sides. To the prosecutor hampered by an evidence problem, for instance, the guilty plea at least assures

conviction, even if not to the most

serious charge. To the guilty defendant, a plea bargain will usually 

result in a reduced sentence from what

might otherwise have been imposed.

Spouse murder cases disposed by guilty plea

Table 18. Spouse murder defendants:

Percent who pleaded guilty to killing

their spouse, 1988

Percent of spouse

 murder defendants

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

Pleaded

guilty

Disposed 

some

other way

 All 540 100% 43% 57%

Husband 318 100 46 54

Wife 222 100 39 61

Table 19. Defendants who pleaded guilty to killing their spouse: 

Arrest and conviction offense, 1988

Percent of convicted spouse murder 

defendants who pleaded guilty

Murder

defendant

Number

pleading

guilty Total

Firstdegree

murder

Seconddegree 

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

Negligent

manslaughter

Arrest offense

 All 232 100% 67% 23% 10% 0%

Husband 145 100 64 31 5 0

Wife 87 100 70 11 19 0

Conviction offense

 All 232 100% 10% 20% 58% 12%

Husband 145 100 12 28 50 10

Wife 87 100 6 7 72 15

Table 20. Defendants who pleaded

guilty to killing their spouse:

Conviction offense compared to

arrest offense, 1988

Percent of convicted

spouse murder defendants who pleaded

guilty to 

Murder

defendant

Number

pleading

guilty Total

Arrest

offense

Lesser

offense

 All 232 100% 26% 74%

Husband 145 100 24 76

Wife 87 100 29 71

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 11 
The advantage of pleading guilty to

homicide is not always immediately 

obvious to the defendant deciding

whether to plead guilty. A trial offers 

at least the chance of acquittal,

whereas pleading guilty guarantees

conviction and makes prison a near

certainty. However, the possible 

advantage of a guilty plea becomes

clear when sentences are compared

between spouse murder defendants

convicted at trial and those convicted

through a guilty plea 

 Though guilty plea and trial conviction cases were about equally likely 

to receive a prison sentence (88% and

90%, respectively), a life sentence was

given to 1% of those who pleaded

guilty but 25% of those who were convicted at trial (prison term sentences 

in tables 21 and 17; life sentences for

pleas or convictions not shown in a

table).

 Among those sentenced to prison 

but not to a life term, the average 

prison sentence was 10 1⁄2 years for 

defendants who pleaded guilty but 17

years for defendants convicted at trial.

These longer sentences for defendants

convicted at trial were to some extent

in line with the lower likelihood of their

receiving a charge reduction 

 When defendants pleaded guilty, the

plea was to a reduced charge in 74%

of cases (table 20); but when they

were convicted at trial, the conviction

was to a reduced charge in 48% of

cases (table 13).

Partly reflecting their less serious conviction offenses, wives were given less

severe sentences than husbands. 

Although wives were not significantly

less likely than husbands to receive 

a prison sentence, the length of their

prison sentence was shorter than that

of husbands 

 Of those who pleaded guilty, 81%

of wives and 93% of husbands were

sentenced to State prison (table 21).

 4 years was the average prison 

sentence length for wives who pleaded

guilty, 10 years shorter than the

14-year average for husbands who 

entered a guilty plea (table 21).

Table 21. Defendants who pleaded guilty to killing their spouse: 

Type of sentence, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants 

pleaded guilty and sentenced to 

Murder

defendant

Number pleading guilty Total Prison Jail ProbationMean prison

term*

 All 232 100% 88% 0% 12% 10.5 years

Husband 145 100 93 0 7 14

Wife 87 100 81 0 19 4

*Excludes life and death sentences.

12 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
Philadelphia case #69 Both are retired.

They have been married 47 years. The

65-year-old wife (the victim) has recently

suffered a stroke. Her health and state of

mind deteriorate rapidly. According to

her 68-year-old husband, she had become "mentally disturbed." He feels he

can no longer meet her health demands

and decides to "put her out of her misery." He shoots her with a rifle. Outcome: He pleaded guilty to nonnegligent

manslaughter and was sentenced to

straight probation (no confinement in

prison or jail).

Queens (NY) case #5 According to

neighbors, the husband and his commonlaw wife (the victim) regularly get drunk

and argue. On the day of the murder,

they are arguing and the common-law

husband places his 69-year-old wife in a

sofa bed and closes it. He later says he

tried but was unable to open it. She dies

in the sofa bed. Outcome: He pleaded

guilty to negligent manslaughter and was

sentenced to straight probation (no confinement in prison or jail).

San Diego case #1 The husband is a

construction worker and the wife is on

welfare. The 23-year-old husband (the

victim) beats his 21-year-old wife and

their 18-month-old daughter the night

prior to the murder. On the night of the

murder, the wife and her husband are

asleep in their bedroom and the daughter

is in another room. The child begins to

cry, waking the husband. He orders the

wife to stop the child's crying. The wife

leaves the bedroom, returns with a gun

and shoots the husband. Evidence

emerges that the wife and the daughter

have been repeatedly physically abused

by the victim. Hospital examination at the

time of the murder finds multiple bruises

on the child and the defendant in various

stages of healing. Outcome: She

pleaded guilty to nonnegligent manslaughter and was sentenced to 10

months in prison.

New Haven case #2 She, a 28-year old

secretary, suffers years of physical and

sexual abuse at the hands of her

30-year-old husband (the victim). Several times he tries to kill her. She stays

with him at first because she thinks he

will stop; then because she fears he will

find her wherever she goes; and then because she fears losing her kids. At some

point she buys a gun to defend herself.

On the night of the murder she thinks he

is possibly going to kill her. In the middle

of a beating she grabs the gun from under the mattress and shoots him. Outcome: She pleaded guilty to negligent

manslaughter and was sentenced to

straight probation (no confinement in

prison or jail).

Pittsburgh case #15 The husband (the

victim) has a history of beating his wife.

On the night of the murder, the husband

comes home and begins ordering her

around, as he frequently does. The wife

leaves the room. When she returns she

notices him looking through the closet for

his gun. The wife earlier hid it under the

bed. While he is searching, the wife retrieves the gun and shoots him repeatedly. She claims she was tired of the

abuse. Outcome: She pleaded guilty to

nonnegligent manslaughter and was sentenced to straight probation (no confinement in prison or jail).

Ft. Lauderdale case #62 Late one night

the husband (the victim) and the wife, a

mail carrier, are arguing. Police arrive

and convince the husband to leave for

the night. The wife locks the door, arms

herself with a handgun and sleeps in the

hall. The husband returns the next morning, enters the apartment, and finds the

wife locked in the bathroom. When the

husband tries to get into the bathroom,

the wife fires a shot through the door,

striking the husband in the leg.

The action moves into the bedroom

where the husband is shot in the head.

Outcome: She pleaded guilty to nonnegligent manslaughter and was sentenced to straight probation (no

confinement in prison or jail).

Austin (TX) case #4 The husband (the

victim) and his common-law wife, a

housekeeper, frequently drink and fight.

On the day of the murder, both are intoxicated and begin fighting. The wife gets a

gun and shoots her husband. She then

calls the police. The wife has injuries she

says she received from being beaten by

her common-law husband. Outcome:

She pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years

in prison.

Dayton (OH) case #3 The husband (the

victim) and his common-law wife are arguing about a variety of things. Throughout the argument the husband beats her.

When the common-law husband comes

after her in the kitchen, she grabs a knife.

She stabs him in the back as he is walking away. Outcome: She pleaded guilty

to negligent manslaughter and was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Spouse murder defendants who pleaded gulity

Notes taken on prosecutors' records

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 13 
Albuquerque case #9 Both are unemployed. One week before the murder, the

22-year-old husband is released from

prison and moves in with his 22-year-old

wife (the victim), who is living at his

grandmother's house. At the time of the

murder the wife tells the husband that she

wishes to leave him to be with a man she

was seeing while the husband was in

prison. She also informs him that she

might be pregnant by the other man. The

husband strangles her, tells the grandmother he killed his wife, and calls police.

Family members and friends say he has a

history of assaulting his wife and threatening her life. He also has a long criminal

record. Outcome: He pleaded guilty to

nonnegligent manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Prince George's County (MD) case #13

On the night of the murder, the husband

and a friend pick up the wife (the victim)

and are driving down the road when the

husband stops to "repair the car." While

the husband is looking under the hood,

the friend begins slashing the wife with a

razor. The husband states he earlier

joked with the friend about killing her, but

he claims he did not really mean it. Seeing her suffering, he says, he shoots her

to put her out of her misery. Outcome:

The husband pleaded guilty to firstdegree murder and was sentenced to life

in prison. 

 

New Haven (CT) case #7 The couple

have a history of physical abuse. The

56-year-old husband has a stab wound

inflicted by his 38-year old wife (the victim) in an earlier altercation. On the day

of the murder the husband claims his wife

jumped on him and said she was going 

to kill him. He stabs her to death. He has

a long history of arrests and convictions.

Outcome: He pleaded guilty to nonnegligent manslaughter and was sentenced to

20 years in prison.

Denver case #18 He is a 34-year-old

steel mill worker, and she is a 24-year-old

waitress. An argument develops between

the two, partly over whether the pregnant

wife (the victim) should have an abortion.

The husband tells her to leave. She refuses. She threatens him with a knife.

He gains control of the knife and stabs

her. Outcome: He pleaded guilty to

second-degree murder and was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Memphis case #2 The 39-year-old 

husband claims that, during an argument,

his 34-year-old wife (the victim) beat him

with a phone. The wife is much larger

than the husband. The husband states

that the wife went for a handgun kept in a

closet and the two struggled over it. In

the struggle the gun fires once, killing the

wife. The husband then calls police.

Outcome: The husband pleaded guilty 

to negligent manslaughter and was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Cambridge (MA) case #2 Both the

58-year-old husband, a mail clerk, and his

44-year-old wife (the victim) have been

hospitalized for psychiatric disorders. On

the day of the murder the wife returns

from a 6-month stay at a mental hospital.

She refuses to take her medication and,

according to the defendant, goes crazy.

She threatens the husband with a broken

bottle, begins hallucinating, and beats the

husband. For hours he tries to calm her

until, at one point, he applies too much

pressure to her neck and she dies. Outcome: The husband pleaded guilty to

nonnegligent manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Oklahoma City case #30 The 29-yearold wife (the victim) accuses the 32-yearold husband of being interested in another

woman. An argument turns into a fight.

The wife is armed with a kitchen knife.

The husband has scissors. Both sustain

stab wounds, but her wounds are fatal.

Outcome: The husband pleaded guilty to

negligent manslaughter and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Philadelphia case #96 Both are 

retired. The 73-year-old husband has

Alzheimer's disease, causing him to be

confused at times. On the day of the

murder he decides to kill his 73-year-old

wife (the victim). He beats her to death

with a crowbar and then calls police. Outcome: The husband pleaded guilty to

nonnegligent manslaughter and was sentenced to straight probation (no confinement in prison or jail).

Spouse murder defendants who pleaded guilty (continued)

14 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 
All sampled defendants were charged

with murdering a spouse, and all were

disposed of in 1988. How they were

disposed of varied 

 Not prosecuted: 13%

 Pleaded guilty: 43%

 Convicted at trial: 37% 

 Acquitted at trial: 7% 

Although wives were not significantly

less likely than husbands to be prosecuted (16% versus 11%), or to stand

trial (45% versus 43%), or to plead

guilty (39% versus 46%) (table 22),

they were less likely than husbands to

be convicted of killing their spouse 

 30% of wives but 13% of husbands

were either not prosecuted or were

prosecuted but acquitted at trial. 

 Conversely, 70% of wives were 

convicted of killing their spouse,

versus 87% of husbands (table 23).

Wives were about half as likely as

husbands to be convicted of firstdegree or second-degree murder 

 25% of wives but 46% of husbands

were convicted of first-degree or

second-degree murder.

Nevertheless, the percentage of

husbands and wives convicted of a

lesser offense (an offense less serious

than the one they were arrested for)

did not differ significantly 

 43% of wives and 54% of husbands

were convicted of a lesser offense 

(table 24).

Overview of case disposition of spouse murder defendents

Table 22. Spouse murder defendants: 

Type of disposition, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants

Tried

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

Not

prosecuted Total Acquitted Convicted

Pleaded

guilty

 All 540 100% 13% 44% 7% 37% 43%

Husband 318 100 11 43 2 41 46

Wife 222 100 16 45 14 31 39

Table 23. Spouse murder defendants: Percent convicted of killing their spouse, 

by conviction offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants 

Convicted of 

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

Not convicted:

disposed some

other way Total

Firstdegree

murder

Seconddegree 

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

Negligent

manslaughter

Weapon

offense

 All 540 100% 20% 80% 17% 20% 34% 9% --

Husband 318 100 13 87 21 25 32 9 --

Wife 222 100 30 70 12 13 37 8 0

--Less than 1%.

Table 24. Spouse murder defendants: Percent convicted of killing

their spouse, by whether conviction was to arrest offense or lesser

offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants

 Convicted of 

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

Not convicted:

disposed some

other way Total

Arrest

offense

Lesser

offense

 All 540 100% 20% 80% 30% 50%

Husband 318 100 13 87 33 54

Wife 222 100 30 70 27 43

 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 15 
The likelihood of conviction did not

vary significantly by arrest offense 

 78% of defendants arrested for firstdegree murder were convicted, compared to 84% of defendants arrested

for second-degree murder or nonnegligent manslaughter (table 25).

The likelihood of conviction to reduced

charges was associated with the 

seriousness of the arrest offense. The

more serious the arrest offense, the

more likely the conviction was to a 

reduced charge 

 53% of defendants arrested for firstdegree murder were convicted of a

lesser offense, versus 29% of defendants arrested for nonnegligent manslaughter (table 26).

Wives were less likely than husbands

to be convicted and sentenced to

prison 

 57% of wives were convicted and

sentenced to prison for killing their

spouse, compared to 81% of husbands

(table 27).

Table 25. Spouse murder defendants: Percent convicted of killing their

spouse, by arrest and conviction offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants 

Convicted of 

Arrest offense

Total

number Total

Not convicted:

disposed some

other way

All

offenses

Firstdegree

murder

Seconddegree 

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

Negligent

manslaughter

Weapon

offense

All 540 100% 20% 80% 17% 20% 34% 9% --

First-degree murder 377 100 22 78 25 15 31 7 --

Second-degree murder 129 100 16 84 0 40 36 8 0

Nonnegligent manslaughter 34 100 16 84 0 0 55 29 0

--Less than 1%.

Table 26. Spouse murder defendants: Percent convicted, by arrest offense

and by whether conviction was to arrest offense or lesser offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants 

Convicted of 

Arrest offense

Total

number Total

Not convicted:

disposed some

other way

All

offenses

Arrest

offense

Lesser

offense

All 540 100% 20% 80% 30% 50%

First-degree murder 377 100 22 78 25 53

Second-degree murder 129 100 16 84 40 44

Nonnegligent manslaughter 34 100 16 84 55 29

Table 27. Spouse murder defendants: Percent convicted,

by type of sentence, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants 

Convicted and sentenced to 

Not convicted:

disposed some

other way

Prison

Murder

defendant

Total

number Total

Total

sentences

Total

prison Life Death Jail

Straight 

probation

All 540 100% 20% 80% 71% 10% 1% 1% 8%

Husband 318 100 13 87 81 13 2 1 5

Wife 222 100 30 70 57 6 0 1 12

16 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
Among convicted defendants, virtually

all were convicted of either murder or

manslaughter (table 28). Because of

charge reduction, conviction offenses

were generally less serious than arrest

offenses. Charge reduction was more

common in arrests for first-degree

murder than nonnegligent manslaughter 

 Among convicted defendants whose

arrest was for first-degree murder,

68% had a conviction offense less serious than their arrest offense (table 29).

 Among convicted defendants whose

arrest was for nonnegligent manslaughter, 34% had a conviction 

offense less serious than their arrest

offense.

Among those convicted, the conviction

offense differed markedly from the 

arrest offense 

 The predominant arrest offense of

convicted defendants was the most 

serious form of homicide, first-degree

murder (68%) (table 30).

 But the predominant conviction 

offense was the least serious form,

negligent or nonnegligent

manslaughter.

Convicted wives were more likely 

than convicted husbands to have 

manslaughter as their conviction 

offense 

 64% of convicted wives had 

manslaughter (negligent or nonnegligent) as their conviction offense, 

compared to 46% of convicted 

husbands.

Sentencing of defendants convicted of killing their spouse

Table 28. Convicted spouse murder defendants:

Conviction offense, by arrest offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder 

defendants convicted of 

Arrest offense

Number

convicted Total

Firstdegree

murder

Seconddegree 

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

Negligent

manslaughter

Wea--

pon

offense

All 431 100% 22% 25% 42% 10% 1%

First-degree murder 294 100 32 19 40 8 1

Second-degree murder 108 100 0 48 42 10 0

Nonnegligent manslaughter 28 100 0 0 66 34 0

Table 29. Convicted spouse murder defendants: Conviction to arrest

offense or lesser offense, by arrest offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder

defendants convicted of 

Arrest offense

Number

convicted Total

Arrest 

offense

Lesser

offense

All 431 100% 38% 62%

First-degree murder 294 100 32 68

Second-degree murder 108 100 48 52

Nonnegligent manslaughter 28 100 66 34

Table 30. Spouse murder defendants convicted of killing their spouse: 

Arrest and conviction offense, 1988

Percent of convicted spouse murder defendants 

Convicted 

Defendant Total

First-degree

murder

Seconddegree 

murder

Nonnegligent

manslaughter

Negligent

manslaughter

Weapon

offense

Arrest offense

 All 100% 68% 25% 7% 0% 0%

Husband 100 66 31 3 0 0

Wife 100 73 15 12 0 0

Conviction offense

 All 100% 22% 25% 42% 10% 1%

Husband 100 24 29 36 10 1

Wife 100 17 19 53 11 0

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 17 
Still, charge reduction was not more

common among convicted wives than

convicted husbands 

 61% of convicted wives had a lesser

offense (an offense less serious than

their arrest offense) as their conviction

offense, compared to 62% of convicted

husbands (table 31).

Wives convicted of killing their husband were generally sentenced less

severely than husbands convicted 

of killing their wife 

 A smaller percentage of convicted

wives (81%) than convicted husbands

(94%) received a prison sentence

(table 32).

 However, convicted wives (8%) were

not significantly less likely than convicted husbands (15%) to receive a life

sentence.

 There was a significant difference 

between the percentages of wives and

husbands receiving a prison sentence

of 20 or more years (including life

imprisonment and the death penalty).

Among wives sentenced to prison,

15% received a sentence of 20 years

or more; among husbands, 43%.

 Excluding life or death sentences, 

the average prison sentence was 6

years for wives convicted of killing their

husband, about 10 years shorter than

the average 16 1⁄2 years husbands 

received for killing their wife. 

Table 31. Convicted spouse murder

defendants: Conviction to arrest

offense or lesser offense, 1988

Percent of spouse 

murder defendants

convicted of 

Murder

defendant

Number

convicted Total

Arrest 

offense

Lesser 

offense

 All 431 100% 38% 62%

Husband 275 100 38 62

Wife 156 100 39 61

Table 32. Defendants convicted of killing their spouse: 

Type of sentence imposed, by conviction offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants

convicted and sentenced to 

Prison

Murder

defendant

Number

convicted

Total

sentences

Total

prison Life Death Jail

Straight 

probation

Mean prison

term*

 All 431 100% 89% 12% 1% 1% 10% 13 yrs

Husband 275 100 94 15 2 1 5 16.5

Wife 156 100 81 8 0 1 18 6

*Excludes life and death sentences.

18 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 
Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 19 

 For conviction for first-degree murder

least severe penalty  10 years in prison 

most severe penalty  death 

life in prison  36% 

average non-life prison sentence  31 years.

 For conviction for second-degree murder

least severe penalty  straight probation

most severe penalty  life in prison

life in prison  17%

average non-life prison sentence  16 years.

 For conviction for nonnegligent manslaughter 

least severe penalty  straight probation 

most severe penalty  50 years in prison 

life in prison  0% 

average non-life prison sentence  7 years. 

 For conviction for negligent manslaughter 

least severe penalty  straight probation 

most severe penalty  10 years in prison 

life in prison  0% 

average non-life prison sentence  5 years.

Table 33. Convicted spouse murder defendants: Type of sentence imposed,

 by conviction offense, 1988

Percent of spouse murder defendants 

convicted and sentenced to 

Prison

Conviction offense

Number

convicted

Total

sentences

Total

prison Life Death Jail

Straight 

probation

Mean

prison

termb

All 431a 100% 89% 12% 1% 1% 10% 13 yrs

First-degree murder 93 100 100 36 6 0 0 31

Second-degree murder 108 100 94 17 0 0 6 16

Nonnegligent manslaughter 183 100 89 0 0 0 11 7

Negligent manslaughter 45 100 54 0 0 11 35 5

a

Includes convictions for weapon offense

b

Excludes life and death sentences.

Penalties imposed on convicted spouse murder defendants varied according to the seriousness of themurder, with first-degree murder punished most severely

and negligent manslaughter least severely (table 33) 
Time to arrest: All cases Most

spouse murder defendants were 

arrested on the same day the killing

occurred. Consequently, the median

number of days from the day of the

murder to the day the defendant was

arrested was 0 days. The mean was

28 days (table 34).

Time to indictment: All cases The

median period of time from the day 

of the murder to the day of indictment

(for those who were indicted) was just 

under 2 months and the mean was 4

months.

Time to final disposition Final disposition is the date the case was either

rejected by the prosecutor (or dismissed in court), acquitted or convicted at trial, or concluded through 

a guilty plea.

All cases Median elapsed time from

the day of the murder to the day the

case was finally disposed was 9

months. The mean was almost 

1 year.

Trials versus pleas Median disposition time from the day of the murder to

final disposition was 81⁄2 months for

plea cases and 1 year for trial cases.

Mean disposition time was 1 year for

plea cases and 1 year and 2 months

for trial cases.

Jury versus bench trials Cases disposed by bench trial (elapsed time

of about 13 months) were not disposed

of significantly faster than those disposed by jury trial (elapsed time of

about 15 months). 

Jury trials For husbands tried by a

jury, average elapsed time from the

day of the murder to the conclusion of

the trial was about 12 1⁄2 months; for

wives it was significantly longer, about

181⁄2 months. 

Processing time in spouse murder cases

Table 34. Spouse murder defendants: Median and mean number of days from the murder 

to arrest, indictment, and final disposition, by case type, 1988

Number of days from date of murder to 

Case type,

defendant

Total

number 

Arrest Indictment Final disposition

Median Mean Median Mean Median Mean

All casesa

All 540 0 days 28 days 54 days 125 days 267 days 378 days

Husband 318 0 30 46 98 232 353

Wife 222 0 26 58 163 303 414

Trial cases

All 238 0 42 45 106 357 430

Husband 138 0 43 45 105 292 385

Wife 100 0 40 46 107 471 490

Bench cases

All 88 0 2 46 81 367 392

Husbandb 47 0 2 71 106 446 393

Wifeb 41 0 1 32 56 357 392

Jury cases

All 150 0 65 45 121 331 451

Husband 91 0 63 41 105 217 382

Wifeb 59 0 69 62 143 508 559

Plea cases

All 232 0 21 59 155 255 373

Husband 145 0 24 46 97 263 339

Wifeb 87 0 16 88 243 243 429

a

Includes cases disposed by prosecutor.

b

Mean and median are based on fewer than 30 sample cases.

20 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties
Though wives were about as likely as

husbands to be charged with firstdegree murder (table 5) and about as

likely to be prosecuted (table 8) or 

indicted, in other respects the justice

system treated wives less severely

than husbands. Most notably 

Wives had a lower conviction rate 

than husbands 

 70% of wives but 87% of husbands

were convicted of killing their mate 

(table 23).

 At trial, judges and juries acquitted

31% of wives but 6% of husbands 

(table 10).

 Among cases tried before a jury,

27% of wives were acquitted but none

of the husbands (table 16).

Convicted wives were less likely than

convicted husbands to be sentenced 

to prison, and convicted wives 

received shorter prison sentences 

than their male counterparts 

 81% of convicted wives but 94% of

convicted husbands received a prison

sentence (table 32).

 Excluding life or death sentences,

the average prison sentence for killing

a spouse was 6 years for wives but 

161⁄2 years for husbands.

 Among wives sentenced to prison,

15% received a sentence of 20 years

or more; among husbands, 43%.

The likelihood of a spouse murder 

defendant ultimately being convicted

and sent to prison was lower for wives

than husbands 

 Of the 222 wife defendants, 57%

ended up in prison. Of the 318 

husband defendants, 81% were sentenced to prison.

Self-defense as a possible explanation

for wives' lower conviction rates

In some cases the wife or the husband

killed the spouse only after being

physically attacked or threatened with

a weapon by the spouse. In such

cases the defendant may claim selfdefense. Justice system officials then

decide whether and to what extent the

victim's own conduct contributed to

his/her death. Additionally, officials

consider whether the defendant could

have fled the scene rather than stay

and defend him/herself and whether

the defendant could have used less

than lethal force. In certain cases of

extreme victim provocation, where the

homicide is ultimately determined to

have been justifiable, the prosecutor 

declines to prosecute, the grand jury

votes not to indict, or the judge or jury

acquits the defendant. In less extreme

cases the charge or conviction offense

is lowered.

The possibility investigated below is

that wives were less likely to have

been convicted than husbands

because wife defendants were more

likely than husband defendants to have

been severely provoked by their

spouse and therefore more likely to

have been absolved on grounds of

self-defense.

Grounds for claiming self-defense

more often present in wife defendant

cases than in husband defendant

cases

 

Possible evidence to support a selfdefense claim  evidence that,

somewhere along the chain of events

leading to the murder, the victim 

provoked the defendant  was more

often present when wives killed their

husband than when husbands killed

their wife 

 More wives (44%) than husbands

(10%) had been assaulted by their

spouse (threatened with a weapon or

physically assaulted) at or around the

time of the murder (table 35.)10 

Less severe dispositions for wife defendants: Summary of evidence

10In some cases the survey questionnaire did not

indicate that the defendant had been provoked,

but the case narrative clearly revealed provocation. In such instances the defendant was classified as provoked.

Table 35. Spouse murder defendants:

Victim provocation, 1988

Percent of 

Evidence of victim provocation

All

defendants

Husband

defendants

Wife

defendants

Victim assaulted defendant

At time of murder 24% 10% 44%

At time of murder or in past 29 10 58

Defendant had prior arrest 

or conviction for any crime 52 70 27

Victim had prior arrest 

or conviction 34 12 51

Victim was the only one 

drinking at time of murder 12 4 25

Victim was armed

at time of murder 15 11 21

Note: Of the 540 cases, information on provocation was known in 460; 

on defendant criminal history, 409; on armed victim, 507; on victim 

use of alcohol. 265. Table percentages are based on known cases.

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 21
 More wives (58%) than husbands

(10%) had been assaulted by their

spouse at the time of the murder or in

the past. Consistent with that, more

wives (51%) than husbands (12%) had

killed a spouse who had at least one

prior arrest or conviction (not necessarily an arrest or conviction for a

crime against the defendant, though).

The possibility that more wife defendants than husband defendants

killed in self-defense is further supported by two victim differences,

though neither difference is statistically

significant 

 Situations in which the victim is

armed are probably more characteristic of provoked than unprovoked murders. If more wife defendant than

husband defendant cases involved an

armed victim, that would tend to corroborate other evidence suggesting

that more wife than husband defendants were provoked. Of relevance, then, is the fact that the victim

was armed in 21% of wife defendant

cases but 11% of husband defendant

cases.

 Previous research has shown that,

compared to unprovoked murders, 

provoked spouse murders tend more

often to involve alcohol use by the victim. One additional check of whether

more wife defendants than husband

defendants were provoked is to compare the two in terms of victim alcohol

use. They should differ, with victim alcohol use being more prevalent in wife

defendant than husband defendant

cases. Relevant to the question of

provocation, then, is the fact that the

victim had been the only one drinking

in 25% of cases where the wife killed

the husband. That compares to just

4% of husband defendant cases,

where the wife had been the only one

drinking.

Victim provocation reduces likelihood

of conviction

Victim provocation (meaning that the

defendant was apparently assaulted or

threatened with a weapon by the victim

at or around the time of the homicide) 

appeared to reduce the likelihood 

of conviction 

 Of the provoked wives, 56% were

convicted.11 That is lower than either

the 86% for unprovoked wives or the

88% of unprovoked husbands.

No difference between provoked and

unprovoked wives in terms of likelihood

of receiving a prison sentence or

length of prison sentence

Risk of conviction is lower for provoked than unprovoked defendants. 

But if convicted, the provoked 

defendant gets no obvious break at

sentencing 

 84% of convicted wife defendants

were sent to prison, whether or not

they were provoked.

 The average prison sentence was 

5 years for provoked wife defendants and 7 years for unprovoked

wife defendants, but the difference 

was not statistically significant.

These results do not necessarily

mean, however, that the justice system

disregards victim provocation at sentencing. Following are three alternate,

but not mutually exclusive, interpretations of why the average sentence

lengths do not differ between wives

who killed their husband upon provocation and those who were not provoked.

Victim provocation indirectly mitigates

the sentence through reduced charges

To illustrate, the prosecutor takes

provocation into account by agreeing

to a plea to a reduced charge. The

sentence the provoked wife receives is

less severe than what she would have

received had the prosecutor not made

allowance for provocation. Similarly,

the judge or jury takes provocation into

account by convicting the wife defendant of a lower charge. Again, the 

result is a less severe sentence than

what she otherwise would have 

received. Such indirect mitigation is

not necessarily observable when 

sentences are compared between

provoked and unprovoked defendants.

Despite provoked wives' testimony that

they had been assaulted, their testimony in some cases was insufficient to

convince prosecutors, judges, or juries.

Perhaps their claim was uncorroborated. Unsupported defendant testimony is generally less persuasive than

eyewitness testimony, physical signs

of abuse on the defendant, or documentary evidence from hospital or 

legal records of past abuse by the

victim. Another possibility is that

prosecutors, judges, or juries believed

provocation had occurred but also 

believed that the defendant could have

fled the scene or, even if that was not

possible, did not have to resort to 

lethal force.

The small sample size is a reason the

5-year sentence for provoked wives is

not significantly shorter than the 7-year

sentence for unprovoked wives.

With a larger sample, the 2-year difference would be statistically significant. 11No conviction rate is given for provoked husbands because there were too few cases for a reliable estimate. Also, cases used to investigate

the effect of provocation on sentencing excluded

cases where provocation was unknown. Consequently, average sentences in this section may

differ from averages shown elsewhere. 

22 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 
No explanation for why State prison

sentences were, on average, 10 years

shorter for wife defendants than

husband defendants

 The average prison sentence for 

convicted wife defendants was 6

years, or about 10 years shorter than

the average 16.5 years for husband

defendants (table 32).

More spouse killings by wives than

husbands were mitigated by victim

provocation, and wives received

shorter sentences than husbands, but

attributing wives' shorter sentences to

this one particular mitigating factor is

not necessarily justified. Wife and 

husband defendants differed on factors

besides provocation that might explain

the 10-year difference. Moreover, the

10-year disparity persists even when

the comparison is restricted to defendants who were alike in terms of

whether they were provoked 

 The average prison sentence for 

unprovoked wife defendants was 7

years, or 10 years shorter than the 

average 17 years for unprovoked 

husband defendants.12

Further reading

Key findings reported here correspond

closely to what Professor Marvin Wolfgang found four decades ago in his

classic study of the justice system's

handling of homicides in Philadelphia

from 1948 to 1952. Comparing outcomes between spouse murder defendants, Wolfgang reported these

apparent disparities13 

 a higher proportion of husbands

(64%) than wives (55%) were found

guilty;

 a higher proportion of wives (34%)

than husbands (4%) were acquitted;

 husbands were convicted of more 

serious degrees of homicide than were

wives.

No firm explanation for the disparities

was offered, but Wolfgang did suggest

that they might largely be explained by

differences between defendants in

terms of victim provocation. Sixty 

percent of wife defendants were

strongly provoked by their mate, compared to 10% of husband defendants.

12It would also be desirable to compare sentence

lengths between provoked husbands and provoked wives. That comparison was not made 

because too few husband defendants were provoked to form the basis for a reliable comparison.

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 23

13 See Patterns in Criminal Homicide (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1958) 

p. 217.
The race of the murder victim was

known in 529 of the 540 cases. Of the

529 total, the victim was black in 292

cases  or 55%  and white in 225 

 or 43%. Other races (Asian,

American Indian, Pacific Islander, or

Alaska Native) made up the balance 

of the 529.

Conviction rate unrelated to race 

of victim

The likelihood of a defendant being

convicted of spouse murder was about

the same whether the murder victim

was white or black 

 The defendant was convicted in 81%

of cases where the spouse murder victim was white, not significantly different

from the 79% of cases where the victim was black (table 36).

Sentence unrelated to race of victim

The likelihood of a convicted spouse

murderer receiving a prison sentence

was about the same whether the murder victim was white or black 

 The convicted spouse murderer was

sentenced to prison in 93% of cases

where the victim was white, not significantly different from the 87% of cases

where the victim was black (table 37).

The length of the prison sentence 

imposed on a convicted spouse 

murderer was generally unrelated to

whether the murder victim was white 

or black 14

 For conviction for first-degree 

murder, the average prison term 

(excluding life and death sentences)

was 29 years in white-victim cases, not

significantly different from the 32 years

in black-victim cases.

 For conviction for second-degree

murder, the average prison term 

(excluding life sentences) was 19

years in white-victim cases, significantly longer than the 13 years in

black-victim cases. However, 23% 

of convicted second-degree murder

defendants in black-victim cases 

received a sentence of life imprisonment, compared to 8% of defendants

in white-victim cases.

 For conviction for nonnegligent manslaughter, the average prison term 

(excluding life sentences) was 8 years

in white-victim cases, not significantly

different from the average 6 years in

black-victim cases.

Race of defendant also unrelated 

to outcomes

Virtually all  97%  of spouse 

murders were intraracial. When a

white was murdered by a spouse, the

likelihood was about 97% that the alleged murderer was white. When the

spouse murder victim was black, the

likelihood was 97% that the alleged

murderer was also black. Given the

highly intraracial nature of spouse 

murder, statistics relating the victim's

race to specific outcomes are interchangeable with those relating the 

defendant's race to outcome. 

The overall conclusion that the victim's

race is unrelated to outcome applies

equally well to the defendant's race.

The likelihood of conviction, and of a

prison sentence if convicted, and the

length of the prison sentence were

about the same whether the spouse

murder defendant was white or 

black 

 78% percent of white defendants

were convicted, not significantly different from the 80% of black defendants.

 Among convicted spouse murderers,

93% of white defendants were sentenced to prison, not significantly 

different from the 88% of black defendants.

Race in spouse murder cases

Table 36. Spouse murder

defendants: Percent convicted,

by race of victim, 1988

Percent of spouse 

murder defendants

Victim race

Total

number Total

ConvictedNot 

convicted

 All 540* 100% 80% 20%

White 225 100 81 19

Black 292 100 79 21

*Includes victims of unknown race and other

races not shown separately. Victim race was

known in 529 of the 540 cases.

Table 37. Defendants convicted of killing their spouse: 

Type of sentence, by race of victim, 1988

Percent of convicted spouse murder defendants

Prison

Victim race

Number

convicted Total

Total

prison Life Death Jail

Straight 

probation

 All 431* 100% 89% 12% 1% 1% 10%

White 181 100 93 12 2 2 6

Black 230 100 87 10 1 1 12

*Includes victims of unknown race and other races not shown 

separately. Victim race was known in 529 of the 540 cases.

14Sentences for negligent manslaughter are not

compared because they are based on too few

cases to be considered statistically reliable.

24 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 
Sample selection

The 33 counties in the sample were

selected to be representative of the

Nation's 75 largest counties. The

ranking of counties in which the 75

largest were identified was based on a

combination of crime data (1980 and

1984 Uniform Crime Report Part I 

arrests) and population data (1980

population from the Census Bureau's

City County Data Book). Rankings 

reflected the size of the prosecutors' 

offices. The original sample plan identified 34 counties, 1 of which declined

to participate.

The following are the 33 counties

whose prosecutors' offices participated

in the study reported here 

A total of 2,539 murder cases were

sampled. These cases were a sample

of about half of all murder-charge

cases disposed of in the sampled 33

counties in 1988. Not eligible for sample selection were nonmurder defendants or any whose most serious

charge was attempted murder, negligent or involuntary manslaughter, or

vehicular homicide. In counties with

200 or fewer disposed murder cases 

in 1988, all were selected for inclusion

in the sample. In counties with more

than 200, a systematic sample of 200

was chosen. Only 6 of the 33 counties

had more than 200 murder cases. 

Virtually all cases meeting the 1988-

disposition criterion were disposed for

all defendants in the case. Of the

3,119 defendants on whom data were

obtained, only 13 had not yet had their

cases adjudicated at the time the survey was carried out in 1990. Another

25 defendants had died of suicide or

other causes, either at about the time

of the murder or later, before final

disposition.

Sample of spouse murder defendants

Of the 3,119 sampled murder defendants, 187 were spouse murder 

defendants. The 187 consist of 111 

husband defendants and 76 wife defendants. Extrapolating to the 75 largest counties, the 187 represent an

estimated 540 spouse murder defendants. The figure 540, then, is based

on a sample size approximately onethird of 540. Readers wishing to determine for themselves the approximate

sample size on which any of the 

report's statistics are based need only

to multiply the table estimate by

one-third.

Nonavailability of cases

The survey goal to track murder cases

across justice system stages was not

met in nine counties. In one of the

nine, legal restrictions barred access 

to cases rejected by the prosecutor. 

In the remaining eight counties, some

of the sampled cases could not be

located.

Computation of estimates from sample

data

Case weights were applied to statistics

on the sampled cases to form 

estimates for the universe of the 75

largest counties, the key assumption

being that cases not sampled were

similar to the cases sampled. A case

weight was the inverse of the probability that a case would be in the survey.

That probability was the product of

both the probability that a given county

would be chosen and the probability of

selection of that case in that county.

Case weights were adjusted to compensate for the loss of one nonparticipating county.

Statistically weighted, the 3,119 defendants in the sample cases represented 9,576 murder defendants in the

Nation's 75 largest counties. 

Methodology

Arizona 

Pima

California

Los Angeles 

Orange

Kern 

San Diego 

Riverside

Colorado

 Denver

 Arapahoe

Connecticut

 New Haven

Florida

Dade

Orange

Broward

Illinois

 Cook

Louisiana

 Orleans

Maryland

Prince 

 George's

Massachusetts

 Middlesex

Michigan

 Wayne

Missouri

St. Louis

New Mexico

Bernalillo

New York

Kings

Monroe

New York

Queens

Ohio

Franklin

Montgomery

Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

Allegheny

Tennessee

Shelby

Texas

Dallas

Tarrant

Travis

Washington

King

Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 25 
Response rates

Except as noted below, this report 

focused exclusively on characteristics

that were successfully obtained in a

high percentage of sample cases 

("response rate").

The case records identified age, race,

sex, and ethnicity for nearly all defendants (approximately 98%).

Also obtained in nearly all cases were

the relationships between victims 

and defendants; the circumstances

preceding the homicide; the arrest 

or indictment charge; and whether the

defendant was convicted, and if so, the

conviction offense. In incarceration or

probation cases, the length of the term

of sentence was usually known.

Defendant criminal history was available in three-quarters of the cases, but

victim criminal history was obtained in

only a third of the cases. The juvenile

portion of the criminal history information was probably less complete than

the adult portion.

Sampling error

Data collected in this murder study

were from a probability sample rather

than a complete enumeration. Because counties and cases were sampled, a sampling error (standard error)

is associated with each number in the

report. In general, if the difference between two numbers is greater than

twice the standard error for that difference, there is at least 95% confidence

that the two numbers are in fact different; that is, the apparent difference is

not simply the result of surveying a

sample rather than the entire population. Similarly, if the difference between two numbers is greater than 1.6

standard errors, we are at least 90%

confident that the two numbers are different. In this report the term "statistically significant" was used to denote a

difference in which there is at least

90% confidence.

Except where explicitly indicated otherwise, all differences discussed in this

report had a confidence level at or

above 90% (virtually all were above

95%). Standard error estimation was

based on software that takes into 

account the survey's sample design

features.

Limited data on provocation

The report reaches no firm conclusion

about the possible impact of victim

provocation on case outcomes, in part 

because thorough analysis requires

more cases and more details than are

available from this study's spouse 

murder database. For instance, the

survey does not show 

 which defendants actually claimed

self-defense;

 which of the spouses in each case

was the first to strike or threaten the

other;

 which defendants received a charge

or sentence reduction because prosecutors, judges, or juries decided victim

provocation was present;15

 which claims of self-defense were

supported by strong evidence;

 which defendants claiming selfdefense had the option of fleeing

rather than using deadly force.

15However, the survey did document instances

where the prosecutor screened out the case expressly because of victim provocation.

 Spouse Murder Defendants in Large Urban Counties 26