Originally posted by Chris Key
The Brett Reider case is an example of the legal bias that favours female criminals. When a woman kills her spouse, she can claim that he was abusive towards her and that she acted in self-defence. This is known as the "Battered Women's Syndrome" defence. It has been used to acquit female defendants who intentionally killed their spouses. Brett was convicted of second-degree murder for killing his mother when he was 15-years-old. He was sentenced to a jail-term of 11-20 years. A review of the case will reveal why Brett is a victim of discrimination.
The facts.
-- Testimonial evidence -- provided by Brett, his sister, and his friends -- indicates that Brett was battered by his mother on a regular basis.
-- Video footage -- filmed by the family -- proves that Brett and his sister were verbally abused by their mother.
-- Brett's father did very little to stop the abuse. Instead, he would remove himself from the house so that he could 'avoid' being around his wife.
-- While Brett was 15, his mother began battering him because she was unimpressed with the 85 score he obtained on a school quiz. During the incident, Brett killed his mother.
Summary.
Brett was a defenceless child. He had no one to turn to for help. He was born into an turbulent situation that he could not escape. He was dependant upon his parents for shelter and food. He couldn't support himself financially as he was only a child. Although I am not an expert on the American law system, I wouldn't be surprised if the state he lived in prohibited 15-year-olds from living away from their parents unless they had their parent's permission, or were taken into child services for health and safety related reasons.
Women who murder their so-called 'abusive' spouses do so even though there are state-funded services that offer refuge to 'battered' women. The law offers a lot of help to women who claim to be victims of domestic violence. Despite of all the services that are offered to 'battered' women, there is a legal defence that women can use to kill their abusive spouses with impunity. It's called 'Battered Women's Syndrome'. A lot of female murderers have been acquitted for their crimes by using the "Battered Women's Syndrome" defence.
Based on the fact that murderous women are not held to the same legal standards that Brett was when he was tried, convicted and sentenced, I believe his case is an illustration of the privilege that women hold over men and boys in today's society.
Men's Rights Activists should use Brett's case to highlight the farce that is "Battered Women's Syndrome".
Source: America Uncut Exposed
41 comments:
I'm suprised he only got 11 years.
Usually males (as america and company call us now) get life or 100 years when they kill a woman.
That woman who killed her preacher husband is getting maybe 60 days in a mental hospital (mostly women were on the jury) and at most 3 years in prison (actual sentance). I wrote about it on my site ( http://mikeeusa.blogspot.com )
Do you have yahoo IM/ email so I can mail you (my email is mikeeusaa@yahoo.com ) ?
I sympathize with Brett Reider. Women call pull way too much emotional crap when it comes to eroding a man's self esteem. My own mother was very controlling and over emotional. I grew into adulthood, becoming an alcoholic (going through 2 A.A. programs). I was convinced that I was mentally ill, until it was brought to my attention that she was the problem, not I. After her death, I abruptly gave up my nightly heavy drinking much to my friends surprise.
i don't think battered women's sydrome is a farce or a cop out. i think it's very real. but there really ought to be a different name for it because any person of any sex is capable of killing an abuser. brett's story demonstrates that. i will agree that women can and do get off too easily for terrible crimes. i'm not sure how that will be resolved. i just hope this kid's ok.
I watched the HBO documentary with my wife and it was terribly disturbing. Not shocked by the justice system's over-reach here, but was glad to read he only served 5 years. I think it should have been manslaughter, and easily a self-defense aquittal. Had he not done it, I am not entirely sure he wouldn't be dead himself. The only positive is that she probably died a horrible death. (Sorry to be so harsh.)
This blog is totally incorect. Though the writer cites a couple of famous cases where a woman killed her husband and got little time, and a son killed his mother and got several years, in the overwhelming majority of cases in the United States women who kill abusive male partners are given sentences 30-40% longer than men who kill their wives - even when there is ZERO evidence of abuse by the wife.
I work in the justice system and you are doing everyone who is abused a huge disservice by blatantly lying this way. If you're so sure women get such a free ride, take a look at life outside the US. In most Muslim countries, it is still common, unpunished practice to kill a female member of a family if she is raped. Get that? She suffers the most horrible physical trauma a person can suffer and SHE is considered the cause of the horrible event, SHE is considered a disgrace and is usually stabbed to death.
By the way, I notice you didn't get too pissed off at the idiot father of that poor boy who was so abused by his psycho wife. Where was Daddy Pussy while his son was being driven over the edge? Off in a motel banging someone more fun than Mrs. Nutjob?
Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you pathetic little loser. "Oh, poor men, we knock up women & abandon them & the kids, we beat up women because we're too wimpy to fight someone who might be able to beat the shit out of us...wah, wah". Boo fucking hoo, loser.
First of all,femanonymous this blog is major right on. The fact that feminists such as yourself hate it means I'm doing something right. If you want to look at muslim countries then look at the CHILD SOLDIERS WHO ARE MEN. Look at the ones REQUIRED to serve in a war and they are MEN. Why do you want us to look at nonwestern countries? Is it because feminists have such a stranglehold on the western countries that they can't be considered "victims" but are truly oppressors of men? I can understand why you would want us to divert our attention because you true identity,oppressor of men,is just bad press for the feminists and the lies they spew.
Oh,femhaganonymous,
Anything in blue or green is what others have said. Anything in black in what I wrote.
Is there anyway to prevent man hating lesbians from posting in this forum?
I don't want to get caught up in the gender battle but I would like people to stop and think! I am a woman, a wife, a mother of sons and a daughter to a father. My life as a woman is entwined with men and boys who I love dearly but I am also a feminist who believes in equity (not equality). Men and women cannot be equal as we are both biologically and emotionally progrmammed differently. This means that we do not start the same. I believe that the gender battle has swung way to far towards the female side and needs to come back into the middle if our sons and grandsons are to grow up in a fair world. Brett Reider should never have been convicted just as his sister, if she had done the same, should not have been either.
First of all let's see how feminism is truly defined instead of ideologically defined (as in the dictionary) and that is "feminism is an anti-male hate system with female supremacy in mind and practice" and a lot of men have seen that firsthand so for one to label oneself a "feminist" is to truly be labelling oneself an anti-male bigot.
Feminism is feminism is feminism with very little differences,outside of PR that is.
I have seen this documentary many times, and it still makes me so angry!! Why in the world would we "assume" that Mr. Reider wasn't honestly afraid of his wife? Men are abused by women ALL the time, but they are too embarrassed to say anything. Brett was FIFTEEN!! First, men aren't taught how to deal with the emotional battles that women deal with, so, in my opinion, Mr. Reider, although used poor judgement, was trapped. This woman was verbally abusive! She called her daughter a FLOOZY???? Are you kidding me?! ANYONE IS CAPABLE OF ANYTHING!!! I hate the phrase,"He, she, just doesn't have it in them to hurt or kill anyone". Look into the eyes of Brett if you ever watch the doc again. At some point, all happiness, all hope, all dreams were gone. I hope and pray that he IS still alive! The voice on the other side of the camera--the mother--was condescending, abusive, hateful, rude, demanding...what the hell else do people need to see what she did?
Just in case anyone caught Mr. Reider's answer to why he didn't protect the kids? He SAID he would have lost everything he had worked for. What I heard was that if he left, the kids would be stuck with their mother, and she would suck him dry and make him wish he could die. Why, when anyone makes threats, remarks, or "oh, it's just a joke,", no one ever takes them seriously? The officers who went to the home when Brett called 911 the first time should carry some of this weight. To say, "You have a nice house, a nice life, a nice family..."--WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING??!! No one EVER followed up on this child. The blame lies SQUARELY on Mrs. Reider's shoulders. She treated her children like shit. Didn't anyone see how pissed she always looked?! She made fun of her son on video. Who do you think would have paid the ultimate price, had Brett not killed her? Let me restate that---the whole family is paying, but Brett would most likely have been killed by HER!! It's just grades, for shit's sake!! What a beautiful little boy he was--how handsome he became. Unless you have lived in abuse, don't EVEN try and debate it!! People have NO clue about the harsh realities when those doors close to the house.
P.S. I am female...in case anyone out there wonders. I agree that mens' rights are just an afterthought.
I am divorcing my wife because she is abusive and controling. She would constantly put me down, she would hit me and she isolated me from my friends and family. I cannot hit her back though because obviously I would get into a lot of trouble.
We have a daughter and she would hit me while I was bathing her. I started to document things, I took a photo of my daughters leg (she is 2) when she smacked her and left a hand print outline on her leg. One day she was changing a daiper and she was sitting on top of my daughter so I decided to video tape it and my daughter was crying, she saw me and attached me.
I exchanged words with her said I would divorce her she said she would kill me, so I called the police. They came and since she was dumb enough to admit to hitting me she was taken away. Even though I called the courts and complained that she was getting more and more abusive they didn't press any charges against her and dropped them.
Now, the funny part is that I did file a FAPA against her, however the lawyers came in and basically I had to pay for her to live in an apartment. (how many abusive husbands get their wives to pay for everything?). Anyhow, I had to stop that and she had to come back into the house because i can't pay for everything.
Anyhow, the deal that was made was also for BOTH of us to go to anger management. I didn't go, I mean, I wasn't the one beating everyone up and losing my temper. I'm not the one who was causing everyone to walk on eggshells. But I did have to drop the charges and now I am in divorce battle. I know that I talked with a socail worker and they did give her a record because of the photo, even though it happened out of thier jurisdiction. I filed for half custody because it would be very tough for a father to get full custody of a 2 year old girl unless the mother was an out right crack addict.
I will just have to teach my daughter to call 911 or me if she continues like this. I was originally just staying together just to protect my daughter but there is no way I can stay through this kind of hell and like I said you're completely helpless beceause I can't beat the shit out of her which she deserves and unless she's cutting my arms off the police can't do much.
I just saw this show and I understand what that father went through, however for me I couldn't sit back and let something happen to my child. I would have stabbed her before he did, however you would get screwed and like you saw in the film he couldn't call the police to do anything, but if a woman has even a dimple when the police come they will arrest the man.
Oh, here's one more part. She said that the police were saying stuff about me because "i can't control my woman" or whatever because I called the police on her.
So, the police are advocating that I beat the shit out of her?? Had I done that, its ok so I can "control my woman"? That's a valid defense? If it is, please let me know.
Anonymous January 21, 2008 1:15 AM,
I've often heard that dead bitches don't testify. I wonder if that is what they meant.
Hi All,
I am a woman and though I feel that battered womens syndrome is a genuine problem, I also believe that women battering men is just as much of a problem. I actually think men get the worst of it emotionally and psychologically because they can't say much to authorities without being emasculated and abusive women play on that. Not only that, they can't hit back because if they do THEY'LL be the ones to go to jail - there's definitely a double standard here. Abusers, both men and women, don't deserve the air they breathe and Brett Reider's story broke my heart. I can't imagine treating my family the way his mother did and I legitimately feel he had no choice in the matter, it came down to survival and he did what he had to do.
On a side note, I noticed that others posted showing a curiosity as to how his life turned out. I'm happy to say that I located a website (I'll post the address at the bottom)and found that he is alive and well, out of prison and has a family. He looks happy, healthy, and his children are beautiful. He never should have gone to prison, but I'm glad his life had a happy ending.
Anne
wheresmyjava@gmail.com
Link to update about Brett:
http://www.livedtotell.com/2007/10/27/brett-reider-is-alive-and-doing-well/
Just saw the documentary. I can appreciate what Brett's father was going through. He didn't want to cause any friction in his marriage. I'll bet he was ashamed of what his family and friends would say about their "family secret". Yes, he was cowardly, but what could he do. If he called the police, then he would seem paralyzed. If he tried to intervene physically, then he could end up with a criminal record. He most likely did not want to deal with everything that a divorce entails (remember he is somewhat cowardly). But being "not a coward" would have dire consequences potentially. He just hoped for the best. Wouldn't be nice if our society recognized that women can be abusive and that they cunningly take advantage of the fact that the male is always going to look bad. I'll bet that Brett's father had that fear. I'm sure he felt helpless, and indeed in our society, he truly is helpless. I know how he feels (I can't even sign my name-- I will be anonymous. How helpless is that!!)
White people can just go around kill someone and chalk it up to physical abuse. You people are f++++++ sick, have always been sick, have killed people since the begining of time and think it's ok, you sick fu##
This whole case was full of lies. Dont believe for a second that his mother "abused" him. Wheres the evidence? His dumb high school friends said she was mean? BS. I believe they only said that to try and display him as an innocent, battered young boy. WRONG. He is a murderer. He should have life imprisonment. His sister made the mockumentary to simply cash in on the story. I believe it was all fake and all lies. I feel sorry for the mother, not the son.
having been in a abusive home i feel for brett, he probably felt like he couldnt run and talk with anyone. my mother was a controlling and abusive bitch and i thank god that she is not in my life or my kids life. i swore up and down that i would never ever treat my kids like that when i had them, and it scares me that i might go off and do something to them. my sister had her children taken away from her and a dr told her that our mother tramatized us, and i can believe it. i wish that they had a place for kids who are abused like they do for women to go to so something like this wouldnt happen to others. i feel for brett i really do and actually what choice did he have?? police wouldnt do anything, and im sure if he went to social services they would have did nothing. i am glad he is happy and well
There should also be a shelter for abused men as well.
I somewhat agree that there's a bias against men when a domestic violence charge is called in, but I can attest to the fact that it's more that the cops are pressured to take SOMEONE in, and the man is usually a more convenient target. I know this for a fact, because a few years ago, I had a fight with my boyfriend (now my husband). I don't even remember what it was about anymore, but I'm not going to lie - we were loud. Anyhow, the cops came, took one look at a bruise on my shoulder, and put him in cuffs (this was an old bruise from body surfing!). They wouldn't listen to me that he didn't hit me, and one literally said "Miss, in a domestic dispute, we have to take SOMEONE in." I told him, sarcastically, that he should take ME then, because I didn't hit him any more than he hit me. Well, what do you know! They took the cuffs off my boyfriend, slapped them on me, and I spent a night in jail. The judge threw the case out when I went to court (my husband has got 10 inches and 100 pounds on me). I still spent the night in jail, though. Most other women probably don't have the same bad attitude with authority, and let their men get hauled away.
With battered woman syndrome, however, I'm going to have to disagree. There are plenty of women on death row (especially in Texas and other southern states. I'm not saying this to insult southerners, but it's true!) who murdered abusive husbands 20 years ago. I mean, truly abusive, proven by hospital records and such. I think it's a cop out to say women can better get away with crimes of passion. It's simply not true. Furthermore, I have an M.S. in clinical psychology, and did my thesis on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with abuse victims. This is no joke. You can beat someone physically and verbally until there is nothing left, much like what happened to poor Brett. When they snap, it's not really their fault.
The bottom line is, the system is inherently flawed, and people need to treat each other with respect. If they can't be respectful, then a social worker or the authorities need to get involved! That father needed to grow a spine and stick up for his children. And yes, I WOULD say the same about a woman.
Sorry for rambling:)
Texas has turned into a mangina parody of itself. It now excuses female murderers. Look at Clara Harris and Andrea Yates for example.
The blog writer is clearly misinformed and probably doesn't like women very much women who kill their abusers get incredibly harsh sentences unless the evidence is extremely overwhelming, men on the other hand do get away with murder and spousal abuse at an alarming rate especially cops, you should really check your facts and the published statistics do your homework. For the record a woman who makes a false rape claim, genuine and provable false claim should serve the prison time that a man would serve for committing the rape they do a serious disservice to women who have been raped and to men falsely accused.
Masculist "Man" you are beyond pathetic and so far from what a real man is, clearly you are a male not a man. It doesn't surprise me you are from
Texas and very uneducated
First of all:
A)I'm not all that thrilled with women.
B)Anything in blue is someone else's words. My words appear in black.
If you think women serve harsher sentences than men then look at Mary Winkler who got 67 days for killing her husband and Clara Harris got off for killing her husband. Learn the truth before posting here.
I'm not from Texas and you have no idea how much education I have. So far you've made an guess and an uneducated one at that.
Oh my ...I just watched your show about what had happened. I feel so sorry about the abuse that you and your sister had to live with. i don't understand why your dad would allow this to happen. What the two of you went through is not right. I too went through such abuse from my dad. I am f here for you both. God bless you both. It is hard to get through, but when you have kids of your own, you have to look at your past and say, "I will not treat my kids like I was treated" God bless you both. love you for your strength.
I agree he should have been EASILY acquitted. The woman was obviously mentally unstable. If anyone is to blame in the events that were a result of her actions it's the father. He should have attempted to have her committed. If that failed(as it most likely would considering she was a she) he needed to separate those children from her. Too bad the system so heavily favors women...to the point she would have most likely gotten custody and a free ticket to indulge in ever more abuse.
Those poor kids...abusers are typically really good at shifting the blame. Those friends of his had to be close friends to even know about it. As someone who endured abuse from a 'parental' figure I can say it's not surprising he snapped.
Setting aside the male vs. female issue, I have a similar story. I was not quite 15 when I left home due to major abuse at the hand of my mother (and unlike others, she and my father actually adopted me...they actually wanted children). I knew even then that one of us was going to die, and though I plotted out 3 different ways to murder her, I chose to leave, rather than commit that crime. I left home in Sept 1976, found a job working "under the table" (back then that meant illegally, working for cash...not sure if there's a different meaning now), continued going to school, rented an apartment and got on with my life. Not quite 20 years later, Brett ends up killing his mother. Justified? I think so. Could he have made a different choice? Absolutely. He could have gone to his father and told him exactly what was happening. He could have gone to a friends parents and told them. He could have gone to a school counselor, or any number of places who could provide help. He could have just left home. To call the police and be confronted in front of his parents was ridiculous. I hope police in Nebraska have changed their ways. But to talk to friends about killing her and plotting ways with them (I didn't tell anyone about my plotting until long after I left home) shows premeditation. That's what he went to jail for, proof that it was, in effect, a premeditated murder. How sad that Brett felt he had nowhere to turn. I felt that same pain and confusion. But I didn't kill my mother. I'm glad Brett didn't have to serve even the minimum 11 year sentence. But, though Justice is blind, and often, deaf, justice was served here, due to Brett's decisions. I wish him well for the remainder of his life, and hope that mental illness doesn't claim another member of his family. My mother remains mentally ill, but now takes medication which makes her tolerable. Yes, I actually do have contact with her, but do not allow her to verbally, mentally or physically abuse me. And for the record, I am female.
"Men and women cannot be equal as we are both biologically and emotionally progrmammed differently."
This is the most logical statement I've heard someone of my gender spew in...probably ever. Too bad the woman who posted this then proceeded to backpedal. Now she just needs to stop straddling the fence she's on.
TRUE 'EQUALITY' is an insane pipe dream. Although, this is unrelated to the material above, I have to say equality in the workforce is one of the worst things to come of this mess. I feel it's downright dangerous and probably much of the reason our economy is in the toilet. Especially given that most women aren't known to pull their weight and aren't fired for behavior/slacking off that would get a man in the same job fired.
Brett, I was moved by the documentary when it aired years ago; so happy to hear that you were paroled and are having a good life.
Very well thought out response. I totally agree. A father saying he would have to sacrifice his life and dreams is a disgrace. Of course his innocent son and his torment should have come before that selfish man's wants and wishes. He was suppose to be there father! He said it without much shame. Like his wants should be more important. The sister is an awesome person and did an awesome job. I do believe that the mother wanted the very best for her children and did indeed raise to lovely kids.. However obviously somewhere along the years she fell very mentally ill. I'm sure she always suffered from a mental illness and as she aged hey mental illness went unchecked until she was completely consumed with mental illness. So sad that her children had to suffer because of it.
His sister Alissa Reider/Cass who helped make the documentary is dead. She died in 2018
How did your sister die Brett Reider??? I seen her obituary for 2018...
I agree wholeheartedly that Brett should have been exhaunerated!!
I am a female who thinks that yes, the legal system showed a huge bias based on his gender and even his social upbringing (example: when the cop showed up at the house and made the comments he did about, nice life nice house etc.. and left.) No follow up was done, children protective services where not alerted.
I hope the courts ruling will be appealed and charges overturned. He has to live the rest of his life with what happened, he shouldn't have to live it on his record. He was not an adult when his action of self defense was committed, he was shown no mercy by being tried and convicted as an adult.
I am a humanist and the law, eventhough lady justice wears a blindfold, is not blind to gender bias, along with plenty others.
There was a unique opportunity to create case precidence that could help children, male and female, in this situation. The system failed Brett and those who come after.
Yours is my favorite
That fucking pussy should've gone to prison instead of Brett, daddy was also very abusive as well, no he didn't hit them or verbally abuse but he neglected to keep his children safe, his excuses were ,"I would've lost everything, she would've left me.... it was all about him, he sat in nice and quiet hotels rooms for no reason and knew what his children were going through while he's just sitting in is hotel room watching TV. I've never wanted to hit someone so hard in my life
Clara Harris didn't get away with murder. You're wrong.
I met Claudia Reider in September of 1992 at work. I was a new employee and she introduced herself to me. The minute she opened her mouth, I wanted to back away. She told me she had a girl and a boy and they went on a vacation to I believe Disneyland that year. The more she talked the creepier I felt. She asked about my children, 3 girls, and stated we should get together with the kids one day. Inside I thought, “No way, ever.”, I made some kind of non-commital comment and walked away. I was seriously creeped out. A little over a year later, my brother-in-law called my husband and some nurse at Methodist was killed by her son the night before. My husband told me and I looked at him and said, “I know who it was.”, and I was right. She emanated evil.
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