2008-12-29 Family Violence Beth Chandler

Family violence is the most popular violent crime in America (and elsewhere). According to Physical Violence in American Families, "just over 16%, or one in six, American couples experienced an incident involving physical assault during 1985" (Straus & Gelles, 1992).

(Artwork: wilbau, woman on photo is not Beth Chandler).

Violence in the family often follows other forms of more subtle and long-term abuse: verbal, emotional, psychological sexual, or financial.
Violence is closely correlated with alcoholism, drug consumption, intimate-partner homicide, teen pregnancy, infant and child mortality, spontaneous abortion, reckless behaviors, suicide, and the onset of mental health disorders.

Beth Chandler was once a woman just like any other. She worked hard, had a home, children, and a husband. And like any other woman, she had a secret. Her husband abused her.
For a while after Beth married Tom Camp things had seemed to be going well. He didn't want her to work so she gave up her dreams of a career. As the years passed, she also gave up any thought of a life and freedom outside of the confining walls of the home she shared with her husband. He had became more domineering and his attitude soon turned to abuse as his penchant for alcohol became an addiction.
Beth endured six years of beatings that left her frightened and scarred to the core of her being. But, as is often the case, she never fought back. Until one day, when she found that she just couldn't take it anymore. During one of her husband's violent drunken rages, Beth finally found the strength to fight back. She found a shotgun. The next time Tom came after her she fired the shotgun.
Three days later, local authorities found Tom Camp's body where it had fallen and Beth in a closet at the opposite end of the house, crying and unable to cope with the fact that she had just killed the man she loved.
Unfortunately for Beth, what should have been the end of a life lived in fear, became an endless battle for revenge. The man she had finally found the strength to defend herself against had a cousin with political ties. A cousin who, as it turns out, was one of the judges in the small town in which her case was tried. Instead of being granted a trial by jury, Beth was frightened into pleading guilty. She was sentenced to 25 years in the state penitentiary, without parole.
Now, five years later, Beth is thriving amongst her fellow inmates. She works full time and is the president of a Christian group and has dedicated herself to helping the women with whom she resides. Despite everything she has been through, Beth Chandler has hope that one day she will be granted the appeal and fair trial that she so deserves.
(Text from the FaceBook Group).

This GROUP was formed to gain support for one woman’s huge injustice. By becoming a member of this group, you have the power to increase Beth’s chances of getting an appeal. Please, join One Woman and One Huge Injustice and forward this link to all of your friends because by doing so we have the chance to change one woman’s life forever.

You might also interested in the
FACT SHEET ON FAMILY VIOLENCE AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Family violence is abuse of power within relationships of family, trust or dependency. It can include many forms of abusive behaviour.
and
The Stop to Family Violence.