Court to consider criminal appeal by Merseyside woman convicted of murder in 2015

On 27 January, The Court of Appeal will consider legal submissions and fresh evidence in support of an appeal by Amanda O’Shaughnessy, who stabbed her violent partner, David Butterworth, in December 2014.  Amanda was convicted of murder by a 10:2 majority jury verdict at Liverpool Crown Court in June 2015, and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 14 years.

At trial, evidence was put forward of a history of domestic abuse, including numerous police call-outs.  In one incident in October 2014, police noted red marks on Amanda’s neck as a result of being grabbed by the throat.  On the night of 7 December 2014, following a violent argument during which the deceased grabbed her throat and pinned Amanda against a cupboard, Butterworth sustained a single stab wound to the back. Whilst she has no memory of picking up a knife, Amanda accepts she must have done so during the incident. The jury rejected her account that she acted in self-defence.

The appeal relies on fresh psychiatric evidence based on a review of social services records not considered at the time of the trial.  The records reveal a history of severe childhood abuse and neglect which, combined with domestic violence from the deceased, give rise to diagnoses of PTSD and complex PTSD.  This new evidence supports and strengthens the partial defence of loss of control as it shows how she would have experienced an elevated perception of threat when attacked by Butterworth leading to a loss of self-control.

The prosecution’s own psychiatrist expert has agreed with the defence’s conclusions.  It is hoped that the Court of Appeal will quash the murder conviction and either substitute it with one of manslaughter or order a retrial.

Solicitor, Nora Talbi from EBR Attridge LLP and counsel, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC (2 Hare Court) and Annabel Timan (Doughty Street Chambers) represent the Appellant.

Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) and Justice for Women are supporting Amanda’s appeal.

Harriet Wistrich, CEO of CWJ stated, 

“Amanda’s case is typical of many we see in which women who are victims of domestic abuse use a weapon to defend themselves when confronted with physical violence. Self-defence is rarely accepted, and they are then convicted of murder despite the strongly mitigating circumstances of a history of violence and coercive control. This is not justice.”

CWJ are currently supporting over thirty cases involving women who have been convicted of murder in the context of male violence. We have made detailed submissions to the Law Commission’s current consultation on Homicide Law, advocating for reform to defences and policy to prevent future miscarriages of justice.

ENDS

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