CHARLESTON, W.V. (AP) - A West Virginia woman convicted of fatally shooting her estranged husband in his hospital bed has won a new trial.
The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that Rhonda Kay Stewart be allowed to present a Battered Woman's Syndrome defense.
The 3-2 opinion concludes that the Kanawha Circuit jury should have heard that Stewart had been beaten and abused by Sammy Stewart throughout their 38-year marriage.
The 56-year-old was killed in CAMC Memorial Hospital's intensive-care unit while being treated for pancreatitis.
Rhonda Stewart was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2009. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
Monday's ruling instructs judges that a jury may consider evidence of abuse when determining such elements of a crime as premeditation, malice or intent.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
