Two Women Used The PMS Defense To Evade Punishment For Murder In The 1980s, Sparking Controversy Surrounding Its Relationship With Female Criminality
We are all aware of the common defenses that suspects use when accused of a crime. Some may claim self-defense, while others say they were under duress, entrapped, or plead insanity.
However, you might not know about the “PMS defense,” which refers to premenstrual syndrome as a mitigating factor.
The PMS defense is not currently recognized as a legal defense in the United States, but two English court cases in the 1980s sparked a whirlwind of controversy after two women were ultimately placed on probation for murder.
The first case involved a woman named Sandie Craddock, who worked as an East London barmaid and had 45 prior criminal convictions.
She ultimately stabbed another barmaid in the heart three times and claimed that PMS had “turned her into a raging animal each month and forced her to act out of character.”
Another case centered on a woman, Christine English, who got into an argument with her lover. Then, with her car, she crushed him to death against a utility pole.
At the time, Dr. Katharina Dalton, a British physician who pioneered premenstrual syndrome research, testified in both cases.
Her testimony led both Sandie and Christine to be convicted of mere manslaughter as a result of “PMS-diminished responsibility.”
Neither Sandie nor Christine were punished for the murders, either. Sandie was put on probation; meanwhile, Christine received a 12-month conditional discharge, as well as a driving ban.
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Perhaps the most shocking part is how, only one year later, Sandie was actually arrested again for attempting to murder a policeman. She was convicted on three charges, used the PMS defense, and received probation for a second time.
These two cases created a media frenzy, with PMS becoming front-page news and talk show topics. The syndrome has been recognized as a “medical entity” since 1953.
Yet, its use as a defense pushed everyone, from reporters to medical researchers and lawyers, to consider it in relation to female criminality.
The Mayo Clinic states that PMS can cause a wide range of symptoms, including mood swings, fatigue, irritability, depression, social withdrawal, poor concentration, and anxiety.
They typically recur in a predictable pattern, and it’s estimated that up to 75% of women have experienced some form of PMS during their time of the month.
Various studies have linked PMS to “deviant behavior.” One research report from 1968 showed that 45% of attempted suicides happened in the week leading up to that time of month.
Another analysis of a North Carolina prison in 1971 found that 41% of female inmates who committed aggressive acts did so during the para menstruum period, which includes the four days prior to that time of the month, as well as the first three days of it being in full swing.
Additionally, a 1953 study of 42 state inmates in New York revealed that 62% committed their crimes during PMS.
The PMS defense has since been used by many British and Canadian defendants to lessen their responsibility for crimes.
“Although these cases resulted in a great deal of controversy, PMS has continued to be raised in both United Kingdom civil and criminal courts,” wrote Patricia Weiser Easteal in the Australian Institute of Criminology’s April 1991 issue of “Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice.”
Still, the United States is a different story, according to a study published in Medical Trial Quarterly.
“England and Canada have recognized PMS as a mitigating factor, and France recognizes it as a form of legal insanity. However, without recognition by the legal, social, and medical communities, PMS will not be recognized as a defense in the United States,” the study reads.
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