Show F8 - LIFESTYLES The Salt Lake Tribune Abused wife who murdered husband becomes rallying point in Britain By Clare Sambrook ' t THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE -- 1 LONDON — When Sara Thorn-ucould take no more she went 'into the kitchen took a knife m t ' 1- i -1 sharpened it went back into the living room where her husband :was lying on the sofa and fatally stabbed him in the stomach her lawyer says :: That was in 1989 In late No:vember 1991 more than 1000 wo:men marched from the Temple an :area of London near the heart of the British court buildings to Tralalgar Square to rally and hear :speeches in support of Thornton 35 now in the 22nd month of her lite sentence and in support of other women who have been found guilty of murdering their husbands who they claimed to be (violent and abusive These women - 1 '4 Ilst in - i 4 r' 4) e 4i4 it: 7' l''4: 9 0e0- t i" s -)' A( ' I 0 $ 1 -- 0 c j 1r 1 :"' 4 r'P' ‘ - i''''' - ( 11'''' 114 Ir 14 t y 1 f 1 441 i I s Its represented disparate activist I !groups that are not always com:patible but in this issue they found a common cause t ti Their voices join the rising :clamor for change in the British :legal system which they say is biased against women In particular they want to force a change in the law on provocation — which describes murder committed in the heat of the moment But more than that they set Thornton's case on a broader platform of women's struggle to have legal recourse in cases of male violence And with that goes a rejection of — the assumption that womks liberation is as good as won Under current English law there is only one degree of murder and it carries a mandatory life sentence A charge can be reduced from murder to manslaughter if it can be proved that it was provoked The sentence for a conviction of manslaughter can range from a suspended sentence to life at the judge's discretion and guided by precedents In July Thornton appealed her murder conviction on the grounds àf provocation According to her lawyer Rohit Sanghvi she had been provoked over time by her husband of 10 months Malcolm ownThornton 42 a record-storer and former police officer who was violent abusive and frequently drunk He regularly hit her and threatened to kill her He told her to keep her daughter out of the way or she would be "dead meat" according to Thornton At the time of his death (in 1989) he was awaiting trial for assaulting her Sanghvi says Thornton's appeal was rejected and her plea of provocation thrown out because the court ruled she had not acted in the heat ofth moment but had gone into the kitchen and sharpened the knife Sanghvi says In contrast to Thornton's case a husband was found guilty of the lesser offense of manslaughter in the death of his wife According to court testimony he kicked his common-in-lawife to death Two days after Thornton's appeal was rejected Joseph Mc Grail r was given a suspended sentence The judge in the Mc Grail case Sir Oliver Popplewell told the luisband that the woman he had killed would have "tried the patience of a saint" In protest to the Mc Grail case which she learned of through a ' -I L‘ 1 (-- Lri "IfI - ' 9- 1 1 'imiti 4 tiLi 1 - ' 1U A 'T I It- IL I 1 : and future of journalism? Students in Clarann Jacobs' journalism class at Skyline High School all involved in the school newspaper were asked these questions Their respons- five-min- can" post-feminis- ' Clare Sambrook London marchers rally on behalf of Sara Thornton and in support for desired changes in Britain's legal system press clipping sent to her Thornton embarked on a hunger strike that lasted 19 days Thornton and her supporters claim a double standard "Many men who have killed their wives have walked free after claiming they were provoked by nagging Yet extreme and often violence by men toward women is often not seen as provocation by the courts" said Maureen O'Hara speaking for the November Women's Action Group in London which organized the demonstration Moreover these supporters say while a man lashes out and kills in the heat of the moment a woman cannot do this because she would be overwhelmed Instead she strikes out when the odds are in her favor when her partner is vulnerable e The marchers' banners — "Equality for women under the law" "Pornography is sexual violence" "Child Sexual Abuse No Excuse" — demonstrated that their objective went well beyond the Thornton case One demonstrator Nusrat Bibi a youth worker told of being beaten and raped by her husband when she was 15 She said she wasn't brave enough to kill him But if the law was changed in women's favor "he would have been more reluctant to hit me" she said Another marcher Maureen Teworker lemarque a from a women's center in Huddersfield said she was provoked by one beating too many from her husband Sh t was pregnant at the time and hal two small children w two-yea- - iev THE ic ) Al': She said she tried to kill him with a pair of scissors "I ended up in the hospital" she said "You can't go around beating up women without some form of reprisal" said Sarah Curthoys a plumber at the rally "Society isn't structured for her (a victim of domestic violence) to have any other recourse She doesn't want to live the rest of her life in a hostel (halfway house) does she?" said marcher Jo McCleod a technical school student The speeches in Trafalgar Square targeted immigration laws (which tie immigrant women's rights to remain in the country to their husbands) shelter provisions (in jeopardy because of government budget cuts) insufficient state housing (some London boroughs are no longer counting flight from domestic violence as just reason for new housing) and police prejudice Thornton's case has given renewed vigor and a rare unity to women's battles on each of these fronts Thornton's supporters hold little hope for speedy legal reform Jack Ashley a member of the Labor Party who is a Member of Parliament and who has campaigned on behalf of Thornton has introduced what is known as a member's bill to change the law of provocation But it is unlikely to pass before the next general election in May Private members' bills have a slim chance compared to government-sponsorebills cash-strappe- iI I ' - - - -- -- -- " ---- IG) A 7 'Ik 1 : V! t i 'k iti 4 art wicst 0 CEVI ' - -- -- -' LOIS i - I VI - --1 4 - ----- ' 1 COTTONWOOD - '04- 4:2 MALL- : k rt Expires FASHION PLACE MALL lettlog 277-566- 5 I - 266-566- 5 : - - — I - i:::' The 1 Anna Belle S Salt Lake City has been appointed to the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the Alcohol Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration for term Her appointa three-yea- r ment was made by Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis W Sullivan She serves as vice chair of the Utah State Policy Board of Substance Abuse Weakly-Mattso- Ia IinMIMF -- 4 1- Sopan Josh! a senior who writes editorials for the student newspaper has no intention of going into journalism He's more interested in science and math He likes to express ideas in writing '''' "Editorial pages are leaning more toward cynical humorists than conservative ) ers" he said He's also noticed that more and more papers are '' looking like US4 Today which he described as "news by head- 114 right-wing- line "Everything is biased" he said -- Newspapers because of Sopan Josh! the volume of news offered are less biased) than television or radio where someone decides what you should hear or see" S S S Ed Whitley a senior and features editor for Skyline Horizon described layouts of today's newspapers as a "circus" of graphics polls and colors An avid reader of both The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News he prefers the layout of the latter saying its more : enticing He doesn't worry about the future of newspapers There will always be enough people who enjoy the "choices" 11' that newspapers offer He is planning a career in print jourt nalism As a former news reporter Ed Whitley turned features writer he said the latter has offered him the opportunity to write about people that others might find interesting 1 n The council develops and conducts comprehensive health education training research and planning programs for prevention and treatment of alcohol abuse and alcoholism and for the rehabilitation of alcohol abusers and alcoholics Sherrianne Cotterell principal at Salt Lake City's Lincoln Elementary was recognized recently by City Police Department for her efforts in crime and gang preven- tion Last spring Ms Cotterell impledress code at mented an the school and has worked closely with the crime prevention unit Officer Friendly Program DARE drug prevention program to reduce crime in her school and keep children and their families safe anti-gan- g 1 otr A 1N's Families Alive --- " $&!Z7 12th Annual Conference Weber State University - n Shepherd Union Building February 27 28 and 29 1992 shoot '1 Examine how fitmilies are shaped by the many facets and dimensions of our WMI A TDIS AD ONLY 2892 ever-changi- ng woritt OGDEN CITY MALL Choose from över 30 workshops such as: The Balancing Act How Not to Tip Over Human Values and Ethics Regarding Health Care Adoption is Kid's Stuff How to Avoid Raising a Delinquent In Between the Dishes and the Pots and Pans Sharing Teaching Moments with Children and Families and Schools Working Together 627-568- 5 :Tr CROSSLANDS Attend Special Keynote Presentations: The Rich Foundation Lecture (free to the public) featuring Shelley Thomas Feb 27 1992 7:30 pm The Annie Clark Tanner Lecture featuring Dr Robert Smith Feb 28 1992 8:30 am A special lecture by Celebrate the New Year with a new lifestyle - i needing developed advertising to provide the necessary revenue He leans toward being an in- 01 7 vestigative reporter He enjoys — A researching subjects especially those dealing with politics and government I "Reporters need to make more use of 'Freedom of the Press' so the average person Brigham Heaton will become more interested in bow the government works" What Makes Families Work A Hilihmen Coinnitnut 1 ing Discovery Through the Kaleidoscope RETIREMENT COMMUNITY - so Brigham Heaton a junior and advertising manager for the school paper said he sees a good future for newspapers People want to read a story more than once He also foresees enough new products be- - UTAHNS RECEIVING HONORS & AWARDS Wardrobe and accessories High fashion photo Sll()00 ' L ' IRATIONS ‘ Coverloolc Hair enhancement et o ft d d Complete artistic makeover e- 1 ) 0 0 n zo -- - - - - t A Valentine That Will Last A Lifetime! 11 - Nathan Oman a junior and editorial page editor for the school paper said newspapers are by necessity becoming more visual but feels there will always be enough people who want news to support newspapers Newspapers also have an immediacy advantage over newsmagazines "It's impossible to be objec- - 1 ' tive but newspapers are more so than television" He regularly reads US News & World Re- he which more considers port fair than Time or Newsweek He would like to be a political Nathan Oman columnist His favorite colum- nist is William Safire who authored a book about Abraham Lincoln "No one understands politics unless he knows history I want to attend the University of Chicago because it has a great history department I intend to major in history and minor in :if ' - t-- - E-------- z - THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Do you intend to make jour- nalism a career? Are newspa- pers dying? What is the state of -1 24 - - By Carolyn Monsen times for print journalism but has every intention of joining the ranks First choice is as a news reporter She cited time as the culprit It takes 15 minutes to watch television news compared to 45 minutes for a newspaper Some will not take the time" she said III "Most students after six hours of reading and studying every day feel intimidated by a newspaper They want to get away from reading" Una Moses I All Bailey a junior and assistant features editor has her heart set on becoming an investigative reporter She's opting for television rather than working on a newspaper "Too many reporters accept a ” person's comment at face value There needs to be more prob- A I said of won't she "People ing" (take the time to read They i 0 want to be briefed in t ute segments Important stories in a newspaper must be on the front page have a good lead with everything a person needs to know early in the story If a All Bailey person wants to read more he I '' : v ' k o Sunday January 26 1992 es follow: Lina Moses senior editor and chief of Skyline Horizon the school newspaper sees troubled 0' ''-- 4 fp k tP i -'- I J II 6 J l'a Ill' ' i It - ! ! r 'i 4 4 - k 10' t- n r t'' t - V 't r t:t1 ' 1 t 40j:y4)Lit 71 -I 1 - - Attractive surroundings interesting activities tasty and nutritious food someone else to do the housekeeping and gardening You'll find it all and more at The Cross lands Retirement Community Call Jan or Karleen to arrange a tour and lunch at our beautiful retirement community (801) 5724456 Sandy Utah Dr Daniel Litchford Feb 29 1992 8:30 am Earn university credit (undergraduate & graduate) Receive free helpful conference materials Enjoy the Nurturing Hand Award Luncheon For more information call Weber State University Continuing Education at ext 6600 or 801-626-66- 00 ME |