r and that zealous advocates who adopt it may well get hearings in some courtrooms. The result would be a pattern of argument such that "X made me do it" instead of "I did it because . . ."
Downs's view, which does not deny the reality of battered women's experience, is that the excuse constantly lurks and that many defendants who use it are simply trying to get out of owning up to their behavior and are endangering the court system besides. BWS itself is put on trial, therefore, by the implications of its successful employment in given cases because its indiscriminate application could have the effect of pushing the notion of responsibility out of the legal system.
Downs's assertion that a cult of victimization is polluting the judicial system articulates precisely the concern that one would have if one's abusing relative were attacked by someone who made the claim without merit. However, as Maguigan points out when criticizing Downs's characterization of BWS-defense cases about which he complains, that assertion does not capture the responsibility of
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