Kiranjit Ahluwalia: Difference between revisions

| children          = two sons

'''Kiranjit Ahluwalia''' (born 1955) is an [[India]]n woman who came to international attention after burning her husband to death in 1989 in the UK. She claimed it was in response to ten years of [[physical abuse|physical]], [[psychological abuse|psychological]], and [[sexual abuse]].<ref name="award">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1651234.stm|title=Killer given domestic violence award|date=12 November 2001|work=BBC News|author=Cherie Booth | accessdate=5 January 2010}}</ref> After initially being convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, Ahluwalia's conviction was later overturned on grounds of inadequate counsel and replaced with [[voluntary manslaughter]]. Although her submission of [[Provocation in English law|provocation]] failed (under ''R v Duffy'' the loss of control needed to be sudden,<ref>''R v Duffy'' [1949] 1 All ER 932</ref> which this was not), she successfully pleaded the partial defence of [[diminished responsibility]] under s.2 Homicide Act 1957 on the grounds that fresh medical evidence (which was not available at her original trial) may indicate diminished mental responsibility.<ref>''R v Ahluwalia'' [1992] 4 All ER 889</ref>

In 1979, at the age of 24, Kiranjit left her home of [[Chak Kalal]] in [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] to travel to the [[United Kingdom]] after she married her husband, Deepak, whom she had met only once. She stated that she had suffered from [[domestic abuse]] for ten years, including [[physical violence]], food deprivation, and [[marital rape]].<ref name="award"/><ref name="gaurdian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/apr/04/gender.ukcrime|title=I wanted him to stop hurting me|date=4 April 2007|author=Staff Writer|location=London|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

When Kiranjit looked to her family for help, it reprimanded her by saying it was a matter of family honour that she remain with her husband. She ultimately tried running away from home but was found by her husband and brought back. During her marriage, Kiranjit had two sons, who she claimed often bore witness to the violence that she endured.<ref name="gaurdian"/> However, neither boy gave evidence supporting that in court or police interviews prior to the trial.

Kiranjit was convicted of murder in December 1989.<ref name="KramaraeSpender2000">{{cite book|last1=Kramarae|first1=Cheris|last2=Spender|first2=Dale|title=Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0ths5DOgGgC&pg=PA723|access-date=27 November 2012|year=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780415920889|pages=723–}}</ref> At the trial, the prosecution argued that although on the night of the event she had been threatened with a hot poker, the fact that she waited until her husband had gone to sleep was evidence that she had time to "cool off" and weigh to a nicety her actions.<ref name="KramaraeSpender2000"/> In addition, the prosecution claimed that her prior knowledge to mix caustic soda with petrol to create napalm was not common knowledge and so was proof that she had planned her husband's murder. Her counsel did not make any claims about the violence she later claimed she had endured, and the prosecution suggested that Kiranjit was motivated by jealousy because of her husband's repeated affairs.<ref name="gaurdian"/> She was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.<ref name="Tyson2012">{{cite book|last=Tyson|first=Danielle|title=Sex, Culpability and the Defence of Provocation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=km6v_Jsv4wUC&pg=PA27|accessdate=27 November 2012|date=2012-08-21|publisher=Routledge|ISBN=9781136298837|pages=27–}}</ref>

Her case eventually came to the attention of the [[Southall Black Sisters]], who pressed for a mistrial. Kiranjit's conviction was overturned on appeal in 1992 on grounds of insufficient counsel since Kiranjit had not been aware that she could plead guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. In addition, it was brought to light that she was suffering from severe depression when she lashed back at her husband, which her new counsel argued had then altered her decisionmaking abilities.<ref name="gaurdian"/> After the mistrial was declared, the [[Crown Prosecution Service]] did not attempt another prosecution.