The participants were interviewed in three prisons in New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina over a 3-year period. The participants had an average age of 29 years, that 21 were white, that 12 were married prior to incarceration, and that they were responsible for the deaths of 31 individuals. Twenty-one of the victims were family members, 7 were friends, 2 were strangers, and 1 was an innocent bystander killed during the commission of an armed robbery. Sixteen participants had never been charged with any previous criminal offense. Fourteen of the participants committed delayed murder, 7 committed reactive murders, and 7 committed intentional murder with malice aforethought. Both the delayed and reactive murderers experienced a continuum of imminent danger in their daily lives, suggesting that homicide was regarded as an event that used reasonable force as a last resort to end an abusive relationship with partners, children, parents, or others, and that occurred after a progression of interactions. One implication of this finding is that these women have a different understanding of their crime than do criminal justice officials and jury members. This finding suggested that the legal system itself may possess a gender disparity within its law. Recommendations emerging from this implication included the need to recognize battered woman syndrome as a legal defense for self-defense and to redefine relevant legal policies in keeping with the reality of today's at-risk communities. Findings also suggested the need for further research to examine the relationship between mandatory arrest and domestic assault calls. Notes and 48 references (Author abstract modified)