Former ballerina Ashley Benefield gets 20-year prison term for killing husband

Bu içerik, eski bir bale dansçısı olan Ashley Benefield’in, kendini savunduğunu iddia ettiği eşini öldürmekten dolayı cinayet suçundan temmuz ayında mahkum edilmesi ve bugün 20 yıl hapis cezasına çarptırılmasını konu almaktadır. Benefield, 33 yaşında, 58 yaşındaki Doug Benefield’ı 27 Eylül 2020’de Florida’daki evinde vurarak öldürmüştür. Ardından gelen medya cirkesi ve “Kara Kuğu davası” olarak adlandırılan duruşma, olayın kasıtlı mı yoksa kendini savunma mı olduğu konusunda birçok kişiyi meraklandırmıştır. Ashley, mahkemede eşinin kendisine yönelik zorbalık ve kontrolcülükte bulunduğunu, yetkililerden koruma taleplerinin dikkate alınmadığını savunmuştur. Mahkemede ifade verirken, eşinin kendisine öldürmeye çalıştığı bir tartışma yaşandığını belirtmiştir. Savcı Suzanne O’Donnell ise fiziksel kanıtların Ashley’in ifadesiyle çeliştiğini ve eşini öldürmenin Ashley’in tek çocuğunun velayetini almak için bir yol olduğunu iddia etmiştir. Benefield, cinayetten beraat etmiş ancak adam öldürme suçundan mahkum edilmiştir. Kararın okunmasının ardından ifadesiz kalan Ashley’e, Doug’un yakınları adaletin yerini bulduğunu ve Ashley’in pişmanlık göstermediğini belirtmişlerdir. Doug’un kızı Eva Benefield ise “Uzun süredir onunla yüz yüze konuşmayı bekliyorum. Umarım hapishane ona iyi gelir” demiştir.
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Kaynak: www.theguardian.com

Ashley Benefield, the former ballerina convicted in July of manslaughter for killing her estranged husband in what she claimed was self-defense, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison plus 10 years of probation.

Benefield, 33, shot her husband, 58-year-old Doug Benefield, at her home in Florida on 27 September 2020. The subsequent media circus and trial, dubbed the “Black Swan trial,” has left many wondering if the act was intentional or in self-defense.

Benefield, who was originally charged with second-degree murder, testified in court that her husband was abusive and controlling – and that her multiple previous attempts to seek protection from authorities had gone unheeded.

She said she sought injunctions in 2018 and 2020 to bar Doug from seeing their child, accusing him of abuse. No criminal charges were brought against him, and the latter case against Doug was still in progress when he died.

During the trial, defense attorneys also brought two accusations of juror misconduct. One was for a juror they argued did not reveal information suggesting possible impartiality and another accused a juror of relaying information about the trial via cell phone. Matthew Whyte, the circuit court judge, dismissed both.

On the day Benefield shot her husband, she testified to an altercation in which she believed Doug was trying to kill her in her home. She said he blocked her from leaving, advanced towards her and struck her in the face while she pointed a gun at him, fearing for her life.

Suzanne O’Donnell, the prosecutor, argued that physical evidence from the shooting – including the fatal bullet wound from side to side, not the front of Doug’s body – contradicted Benefield’s testimony. O’Donnell accused Benefield of “performing” grief in the courtroom and said that killing Doug was Benefield’s way of achieving her ultimate goal, to gain sole custody of their child.

Benefield was acquitted of murder but received the lesser charge of manslaughter, which carried a maximum sentence of 30 years. At Tuesday’s hearing, she reportedly remained expressionless as the punishment was read.

Doug’s relatives said in the hearing that the sentence was fair and that they never believed Ashley showed remorse.

“I’ve waited so long to speak to her, face to face,” said Eva Benefield, Doug’s daughter, in a victim impact statement. “I hope prison serves her well.”

Former ballerina Ashley Benefield gets 20-year prison term for killing husband | US news

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