Battered Women

Both by temperament and by politics, Rep. Connie Morella is ideally suited to raise the issue of domestic violence and spousal abuse to a national level. Having introduced legislation in Congress to protect and shelter abuse victims, Morella now has gained the ear of Gov. William Donald Schaefer. Last week, at her suggestion, Schaefer visited the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women in Jessup and talked face-to-face with women who have been convicted of killing or assaulting mates who abused them.

Joyce Helen McCallister, a former teacher who volunteered at a residence for battered women and their children, died of ovarian cancer Sunday at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The Perry Hall resident was 66. Born Joyce Helen Goyert in Baltimore and raised on East Monument Street, she was a 1959 Parkville High School graduate. She earned undergraduate and master's degrees from what is now Towson University. Mrs. McCallister taught at the old Loch Raven Elementary School in Baynesville for more than six years.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer says he is contemplating granting pardons to some incarcerated women convicted of murdering abusive husbands, fathers or boyfriends.Schaefer will visit with several prisoners at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup Monday to discuss their situation and the issue of battered women.Schaefer said last night he's going at the urging of Rep. Constance A. Morella, R-8th, to see "whether there were any inequities" in the women's situation."It was [Morella's]

They came to hear about Morrie and Eddie, two sagacious old men from the books of author and Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom. As the featured speaker at the annual fund-raising luncheon for the House of Ruth Maryland, held at M&T Bank Stadium yesterday, Albom didn't disappoint. But lately, Albom has drawn more attention - notoriety, actually - for a column he wrote last month about Jason (Richardson) and Mateen (Cleaves), two alumni attending a tournament game at their alma mater.

ANNAPOLIS The House of Delegates approved a Schaefer administration bill yesterday that would give battered women more remedies against their abusers in court. The vote was 113-7.The bill, which was weakened by a House committee earlier this week, now goes back to the Senate, which earlier passed a stronger version.The House limited the number of unmarried women who could seek relief under the bill by requiring that applicants have lived with an abuser for 90 days during the previous year.

IRVINE, Calif. -- The family of Nicole Brown Simpson plans to create a foundation for battered women in her name and to immerse themselves in the fight against domestic violence, the slain woman's mother and sisters said yesterday.Juditha Brown again declined to say whether she believes that her murdered daughter was a battered woman."That's not an answer I can give yet," Mrs. Brown said. "We have to wait a while longer on that."In 1989, O. J. Simpson -- now on trial for the murders of his former wife and her friend Ronald L. Goldman -- pleaded no contest to abusing Ms. Simpson.

UNDER NORMAL circumstances people try, and well they should, all kinds of compromises to make a marriage work. He detests the opera, so she goes with friends. She feels degraded picking up his dirty socks, so he learns to put them in the laundry basket.But there is a point at which struggle to keep a relationship together -- for society, for the kids, whatever -- crosses the line into sickness. That is what happens to battered women.Perhaps it is because they have a low sense of self-esteem to begin with.

Last year, 73 women and children were murdered by abusive partners or males in parental roles. Some of these tragic deaths might have been prevented had the victims been able to get court orders protecting them from their killers.Under extremely narrow and outdated provisions of Maryland law, such protection is limited to women married to and living with their batterers or single women co-habitating with the father of their child. Yet half of the battered women seeking refuge at Baltimore's House of Ruth can't get court-ordered protection because they don't share a marriage license with the men who abuse them.

Gov. William Donald Schaefer has granted clemency to eight women convicted of killing their husbands or boyfriends. The women were all victims of what experts call battered spouse syndrome. But, because of state law, they had not been allowed to raise the defense of abuse at their trials. Do you think Schaefer was right in his decision?The legislature is considering changing the law to allow use of the defense of spouse abuse. Do you think the defense should be allowed?We'd like to know your opinions.

Baltimore's only shelter for battered women has almost quadrupled its number of beds.The House of Ruth, a 22-year-old nonprofit organization at 2201 Argonne Drive, plans a ceremony Wednesday to dedicate its new 84-bed shelter, officials said."

OVER THE PAST few months, we have learned much about the violent, troubled life of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. Whether or not he pulled the trigger - some recent reports have pointed to his 17-year-old companion Lee Boyd Malvo as the main shooter - there is no doubt in the minds of domestic-violence experts that this adult is responsible for these deaths. While many pundits conclude that we will never know what motivated the sniper suspect, to domestic violence experts his is an all-too-familiar story of a man whose relationships with the women and children - possibly including Malvo - in his life fit the power-and-control dynamic so common to batterers.

One is a former drug addict turned coffee brewer who moved into a shelter for battered women to help turn her life around. Another, a state employee, has a criminal record that includes drug charges. A third, a Canadian citizen, was working without the proper permit. They all worked at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and they were among the 10 workers there indicted this week on federal charges. Seven are accused of making false statements that concealed their criminal history to obtain airport-issued security badges.

Mr. John's almost ready!!! The women and children peer through the glass door into the dining room as John Bowers puts the finishing touches on their dinner. No cafeteria-style dining tonight. There are the white tablecloths anchored with vases of silk daisies, jonquils, roses and alstroemeria, real plates and real cutlery. And best of all, platters of freshly prepared food: Steaming turkey pies. Orangy red Buffalo wings with celery sticks and a creamy dip. Mountains of scalloped potatoes.

Often labeled as troublemakers when used on the road or in a crowded theater, cellular phones take on a Good Samaritan quality when their owners donate them to the elderly or to battered women for emergency use. In Howard County, volunteers and law enforcement officers have worked together this summer to distribute a mountain of cell phones to seniors in the county and beyond. Such programs are popping up all over the country, in part to extend the life of the estimated 30 million cell phones that go out of use each year.

Often labeled as troublemakers when used on the road or in a crowded theater, cellular phones take on a Good Samaritan quality when their owners donate them to the elderly or to battered women for emergency use. In Howard County, volunteers and law enforcement officers have worked together this summer to distribute a mountain of cell phones to seniors in the county and beyond. Such programs are popping up all over the country, in part to extend the life of the estimated 30 million cell phones that go out of use each year.

Four men in a night doing standup comedy, that's a show. Four women, that's - what? A statement? Perhaps. It's definitely the 2001 Women in Comedy Festival, a fourth-annual event benefiting My Sister's Place, a Washington shelter for battered women, that gives the evening a certain thematic charge. "Battered women have absolutely no voice whatsoever," says comedian Judy Gold, who will serve as master of ceremonies, doing her own set and introducing Paula Poundstone, Rene Hicks and Joy Behar.

Among the silly ads for popcorn and soda you'll see when you visit Loews Theaters this month, you'll actually see a film short that's worth watching.The Baltimore-based House of Ruth, which provides shelter and counseling services to battered women and their families, has produced a 60-second film focusing on domestic abuse, specifically the story of a 26-year-old Baltimore woman named Venus Ann Shifflett, who was killed by her partner in 1989.In the film, the voice-over narration is based on a letter Ms. Shifflett wrote before her slaying.

BOSTON -- Defenders of battered women have long struggled to persuade authorities to crack down on brutal men who reigned by the fist at home, but as laws and the police have become more aggressive, they have produced an unexpected consequence: In some places nationwide, one quarter or more of arrests for domestic assault are of women.Among residents of Concord, N.H., who were arrested for domestic assault this year, nearly 35 percent were women.In Boulder County, Colo., one-quarter of defendants charged in domestic violence cases through September were women.

Baltimore's only shelter for battered women has almost quadrupled its number of beds.The House of Ruth, a 22-year-old nonprofit organization at 2201 Argonne Drive, plans a ceremony Wednesday to dedicate its new 84-bed shelter, officials said."