17. Insanity/"Battered-Woman" Defense: Lorena Bobbit & Francine Hughes

**Before you start this episode, be warned you might be able to hear Hurricane Isaias winds in the background** We know this is a true-crime podcast, but we want to put out an additional trigger warning on this episode for domestic violence and rape. This week, we focus on cases that feature women who were found not guilty of their crimes by reason of insanity. Rachel starts us off with the infamous case of Lorena Bobbitt. In 1993, Lorena was arrested when she cut off her abusive husband's penis. There were many inappropriate jokes made by tabloids and the media that overshadowed Lorena's painful experiences with rape and domestic violence. After Jordan Peele released a four-part series on Amazon in 2019, many news outlets re-approached this case and focused more on Lorena's struggle and how she was able to finally get away from her abuser. Nathalie tells the story of Francine Hughes who, after experiencing 13 years of abuse at the hand of her husband, set his bed on fire while he was still sleeping in it. Her case was one of the first in the country to involve "battered woman syndrome" as a defense and Francine was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Her story was made into a book and subsequent film titled The Burning Bed. Her story also inspired the song "Independence Day" by Gretchen Peters & sung by Martina McBride. Rachel's Sources Battered Women Syndrome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battered_woman_syndrome Jury Acquits Bobbitt, By Carlos Sanchez and Marylou Tousignant https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/11/11/jury-acquits-bobbitt/27e1b0b3-dfaf-4f8b-b468-301e74b919f4/?utm_term=.22cf6379a216 You Know the Lorena Bobbitt Story. But Not All of It. by Amy Chozick https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/30/arts/television/lorena-bobbitt-documentary-jordan-peele.html John Wayne and Lorena Bobbitt Trials: 1993 & 1994 https://www.encyclopedia.com/law/law-magazines/john-wayne-and-lorena-bobbitt-trials-1993-1994 ‘He Could Have Killed Me.’ Lorena Bobbitt on Domestic Abuse and What She Wants You to Know About Her Case 25 Years Later, by Olivia B. Waxman https://time.com/5317979/lorena-bobbitt-today-anniversary-interview/ Lorena Gallo Foundation https://lorenagallofoundation.org/ Nathalie's Sources https://www.history.com/news/burning-bed-syndrome-francine-hughes-domestic-abuse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francine_Hughes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battered_woman_syndrome https://people.com/archive/cover-story-a-violent-death-a-haunted-life-vol-22-no-15/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/francine-hughes-wilson-whose-burning-bed-became-a-tv-film-dies-at-69/2017/03/31/a1799db8-161c-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html http://umich.edu/~clemency/clemency_mnl/ch4.html