Manslaughter: the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought.

-Dictionary.com definition of manslaughter.

Suspended sentences are usually handed down when a judge feels that a jail term isn’t necessary, but that the offender probably needs some kind of deterrent period to encourage them not to re-offend.

The reality of the suspended sentences however is we now have a revolving door legal system of low level offenders who get off without any form of tangible punishment.

Not that it excuses it, but fortunately is most of the cases suspended sentences are handed down the crimes committed aren’t that serious in nature.

Following in the footsteps of the suspended jail sentence comes the ‘battered woman defense’. Only this time not only are the crimes serious but now offenders are getting off scott free.

Susan Falls was the victim of domestic violence and abuse for a good 20 years.

Over 20 years, she was beaten, burned, threatened, dragged across floors by her hair, forced to have sex and told members of her family would be killed.


Don’t get me wrong, what Susan Falls was subjected to is nothing short of horrendous and appropriately her husband, Rodney Falls, ultimately deserved to be brought to justice.

Instead Rodney was drugged, shot once from point blank range and then again a few hours later. Despite administering the drugs and pulling the trigger twice, a judge ruled Susan acted out self defense and using the battered woman defence, she was acquitted of all charges.

The end of Rodney Falls life came about after he engaged his wife in a gambling game. Rodney wrote down several of Susan’s family members on bits of paper and told her to pick one. After doing so Rodney told her he was going to kill them and gave Susan a date.

Instead of going to the police or escaping, Susan set about a plan to kill her husband. Shortly thereafter she acquired a gun with a silencer and some sleeping pills.

On the night of Rodney Falls death Susan cooked him up his favourite dish, curried prawns. She then laced them with sleeping drugs and shortly after dinner Rodney fell asleep in his chair.

Susan took her gun, placed it against her husband’s temple and pulled the trigger in cold blood. After going into the kitchen for a few hours Susan returned and shot her husband again at point blank range in the throat.

She did this to ensure her husband was well and truly dead.

A few days later Susan elicited the help of three others, ‘Christopher Cummings-Creed, 25, Bradley James Coupe, 30, and Anthony James Hoare, 42‘, to help her dispose of Rodney’s body.

Despite being aware of the crime committed and aiding Susan Falls in covering up the death of her husband, all three men were also acquitted of any charges.

Approximately a fortnight after killing her husband, Susan Falls then made a public plea for anyone knowing what had happened to her husband to come froward.

she told the world the last time she’d seen him was when she dropped him at the Curramundi Hotel on June 1.


Susan had killed Rodney Falls a week earlier on May 25th. Not only had she premeditated his death but it also seemed she’d put some thought into the covering it up too.

Despite all this a jury took just 40 minutes to return a unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict on all charges against her.

Naturally some people are now worried that the Falls case will signal an ‘open season‘ on abusive partners.

THE acquittal of a woman who shot and killed her violent husband should not signify “open season” on abusive partners.

Lawyer Debbie Kilroy, founder of women prisoner support group Sisters Inside, said the verdicts should not encourage the public to take the law into their own hands.


Sorry but what else is a verdict like this going to do? The ‘battered woman defence’ relies on establishing ‘battered woman syndrome’. Battered woman syndrome ‘is a condition that renders the victim unable to take independent action to escape the abuse or seek assistance‘.

Drugging, shooting your husband at point blank range, trying to dispose of the body and then lying to the world about it certainly sounds like ‘independent action‘ to me.

Unable to leave or seek assistance but able to kill in cold blood? What a load of horseshit.

Vigilantism in all it’s forms doesn’t work, yet here we have the Australian legal system sanctioning it. Kilroy went on to say;

I think (the Falls verdict) is a message to all battered women and victims of serious domestic violence that there is justice in the legal system.


What justice?

Is Kilroy seriously suggesting that the death of an abusive husband at the hands of a partner is justice in any sense of the word? Manslaughter definitely, murder perhaps on a case by case basis but justice?

The only message that the Falls decision sent out to battered women is to not bother with all the abundance of social support, help and assistance made available to them. Instead just kill your partner and be done with it.

I mean how are we even supposed to quantify the precedent set by the Falls decision? How do you argue how much domestic abuse and violence is too much, or too little to justify murder?

A study recently found that domestic violence against men was on the rise and even went so far as to label it an ‘hidden epidemic‘.

I wonder how long it’ll be before someone tries the ‘battered man defense’ and whether or not they’ll receive the same red carpet treatment by the courts.

Murder is murder and manslaughter is manslaughter. Whatever the finer details of the case, Susan Falls ultimately got away with one of them.


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