Expert evidence on coercive control in support of self-defence: The trial of Teresa Craig
| Author | Elizabeth Sheehy |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895817733524 |
| Published date | 01 February 2018 |
| Date | 01 February 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895817733524
Criminology & Criminal Justice
2018, Vol. 18(1) 100 –114
© The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/1748895817733524
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Expert evidence on coercive
control in support of self-
defence: The trial of Teresa
Craig
Elizabeth Sheehy
University of Ottawa, Canada
Abstract
This article uses the transcripts from an abused woman’s trial in Canada for first-degree murder
of her husband to explore the expert testimony provided by Dr Evan Stark to support a potential
defence of self-defence. His evidence focused on coercive control theory and provoked extreme
resistance from Crown prosecutors, such that self-defence was ultimately removed from the
jury’s consideration. The trial illustrates the advantages and challenges of using coercive control
theory as well as its future potential.
Keywords
Battered women, coercive control, self-defence
Introduction
Teresa Craig stabbed her husband Jack Craig four times while he slept off his intoxica-
tion on a couch in their recreational vehicle (RV) on 31 March 2006 in rural Kemptville,
Ontario. He screamed and tried to struggle to his feet. Teresa fled to her closest neigh-
bour’s, leaving their nine-year-old son Martyn asleep in the bedroom at the back of the
RV. Charmaine Crockett got out of bed to find Teresa on her doorstep in her pajamas,
crying: ‘Help me, please help me, call 911, I killed my husband.’1
What distinguished Teresa from so many other women who kill their abusers is that
she maintained that Jack had not assaulted her over their 10-year relationship, beyond
minor violence such as elbowing her and shoving her out of his way. Neither had he
threatened to harm her or Martyn, or committed sexual assault. A straightforward self-
defence claim would be difficult to make out under Canada’s Criminal Code, given the
Corresponding author:
Elizabeth Sheehy, Professor of Law, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, 57 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, K1N
6N5, Canada.
Email: esheehy@uottawa.ca
733524CRJ0010.1177/1748895817733524Criminology & Criminal JusticeSheehy
research-article2017
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