NY man accused of beheading claims he was battered

[cali]

By AP News
Friday, January 22, 2010

The founder of an Islam-oriented television station who is accused of beheading his wife was abused by her for years, according to his lawyer, who said Friday he will pursue a defense combining that justification as well as psychiatric claims.

Defense attorneys' claims that Muzzammil Hassan was victimized by his wife drew a blunt response from District Attorney Frank Sedita after a hearing Friday.

"He chopped her head off," Sedita said. "He chopped her head off. That's all I have to say about Mr. Hassan's apparent defense that he was a battered spouse."

Hassan, 45, is charged with one count of second-degree murder in the Feb. 12 death of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan at the offices of Bridges TV, the station the Pakistan-born couple established in 2004 to counter negative stereotypes of Muslims.

During Friday's hearing, Hassan fired the attorney who has been representing him for nearly a year and replaced him with a lawyer who promised "a revolutionary defense" at the March trial.

<snip>

http://www.560wind.com/article.aspx?id=47b87c79-e633-4447-87fd-736b2eefc964&catid=0

[Maru Kitteh]

1. We have this little thing called divorce here.

Ugh. Just read the article. Nobody witnessed this so called abuse, and she tried to divorce him. He got the papers one week before he chopped her head off.

I hope his kids leave him in jail for dead and he never sees them again.

[dustbunnie]

2. Well, the women over in the Betty Broderick thread are claiming abuse is a good reason

to murder your spouse in cold blood. :shrug:

[sufrommich]

3. Please don't say "the women" , Lots of women over there

we're saying just the opposite.

[dustbunnie]

4. I'm sorry! You're so right and I meant only some of the women.

I responded there just as you did. :)

And this story just bolsters the whole point that you can't condone these crimes for one sex, while ridiculing and being disgusted by it from the other.

[sufrommich]

6. No problem. And I agree completely. nt

[cali]

5. whoa. this woman is disgusted with that, so please don't fucking

generalize.

[tonysam]

7. He and Betty ought to get together and commiserate.

n/t

[east texas lib]

8. Battered?

Hopefully, upon being convicted and sentenced, he'll be battered daily by his cell mates.

[Bitwit1234]

9. First - since when would a Mulim man let his wife even tell him what to do

much less really abuse him. And second didn't he make a statement when he was first arrested complaining about her and that he was within his rights because she was too Americanize or something like that. I can't remember exactly.

[unabelladonna]

10. bullshit

we don't live by sharia law (yet).