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Amanda Gatti's only defense, battered women syndrome
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Lawyer David Epstein says Amanda Carina Barbosa
Rodrigues' story behind the story must be told to a jury.
You might be familiar with the rap music shout out, “Brooklyn’s in the house.”
When someone from Brooklyn is in the House Of Detention, meaning in jail, the man who is often called is prominent criminal defense lawyer David Epstein.
Epstein, a Detroit native and former college baseball star, has had remarkable success in many cases in state and federal courts. His practice covers courts in the five boroughs of New York City and some suburban areas.
(One of the first reporters on top of this breaking story was Colleen Starr, our Miami Celebrity Headlines Examiner.)
Knowing Epstein to be an enthusiastic boxing fan, I asked Epstein what he would do if he was called upon to defend former champion Arturo Gatti’s wife, 23-year-old Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues, on murder charges.
Police in Pernambuco, Brazil, have her in detention as formal charges of killing Gatti while he slept are being written up.
“I was an Arturo Gatti fan,” Epstein said Monday. “He was incredibly exciting.”
Epstein said he has no knowledge of Brazilian laws or criminal court procedure.
“But, look, the facts of the case are facts anywhere in the world. I can only see what we call the Battered Women’s Syndrome as her defense. You would have to go over, chapter and verse in excruciating detail, what preceded her alleged shocking conduct.
“I would say her killing him while he slept speaks of desperation. That’s the only time where she thought he would be vulnerable. She must have been desperate and, in her own mind, she must have felt there was no one she could turn to for help,” the veteran attorney said.
Epstein said such a defense could generate some “empathy” from a jury.
“No lawyer can change the facts of this case,” Epstein said. “But you can put on a defense which tells the background to this fateful night, to render the story behind the story. You would have to lay it all out as to what drove her to do what she is being charged with doing. What drove her to this act of desperation."
Sources
Examiner.com - Arturo Gatti found dead in Brazil (Photo and Video), was he murdered?
AP - Police detain wife of former boxing champion Gatti
AP - Former boxing champ Gatti found dead in Brazil
NY Daily News - Former boxer Arturo Gatti found dead on second honeymoon in Brazil
ESPN - Foul play suspected in Gatti's death
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