She wasn't offered a lesser charge.
BACKGROUNDWe take the following recitation of background facts fromthe California Court of Appeal’s decision, People v. McNeil,slip op. at 2-5:
McNeil and Ray were both former [M]arines,bodybuilders and steroid users. Their relationshipwas replete with violent altercations. Evidence wasintroduced that McNeil had hit Ray and threw thingsat him, including dumbbells and a VCR that shethrew out a second story window as Ray was walk-ing below, and that Ray had hit, kicked and pushedMcNeil leaving her with bruises and black eyes. Evi-dence was also introduced that McNeil had severalviolent altercations with others, including womenshe suspected Ray was having affairs with, barroombouncers, and the police. On the night of the shooting, Ray said he wasgoing out to the Price Club, which closed at 8:30p.m., to get chicken for dinner. However, he did notreturn until 10:30 p.m., and had gone to a moreexpensive market. Ray had had several affairs duringthe course of the marriage, and McNeil suspected hehad been seeing a girlfriend. McNeil criticized Rayfor getting the more expensive chicken, which shecould not afford, and asked what had taken him solong and if he had been with his girlfriend. She alsotold him he looked like “shit” and would not do wellin an upcoming bodybuilding contest. McNeil told police that Ray then slapped her,pushed her down on the floor and started chokingher.
McNeil squirmed away, ran into the bedroomand took her shotgun out of its case in the closet. Shegrabbed two shells, loaded one, pumped the gun, andthen “went out and aimed it at [Ray]” and shot him.At the time, Ray was at the kitchen stove cookingchicken. McNeil stated that after Ray was shot, hedoubled over and then came towards her, so sheloaded the second round, pumped the gun again, andshot him a second time. After that, McNeil gave the shotgun to a neighbor,and called 911. The 911 operator who took the calltestified that she heard a male, who had been moan-ing, ask: “Why did you shoot me?” and McNeilrespond: “I told you that I wasn’t taking your shitanymore.”
When police arrived, Ray was on his hands andknees about five feet inside the apartment andMcNeil was standing at the kitchen sink. It lookedlike Ray’s face had been blown off from the bridgeof his nose down, and he was saying “Why?[,]” “OhGod,” and “Help me.” When paramedics arrived,Ray pointed to his stomach, and they saw his liverprotruding through the skin. Ray was taken to thehospital and died that night. The shotgun wound tohis midsection was the one that caused his death; theshotgun blast to his face caused massive damage tohis lower jaw and face. A police criminologist testified that the weaponused was a 12-gauge pump shotgun with a pistolgrip, which was fired at Ray’s midsection and thenat his face from about six feet away. A crime scenereconstructionist opined that Ray’s head was closeto, and in line with, the sofa cushions when he wasshot in the face, which would indicate that Ray wasnot upright when he was shot a second time.
Police discovered fingernail marks on McNeil’sneck the night of the shooting and Ray’s body wasexhumed so that his fingernails could be examined.His fingernails were very short, and it was deter-mined that his hands could not have caused themarks on McNeil’s neck and further, that the markswere inconsistent with manual strangulation andcould have been self-inflicted. B. MCNEIL’SDEFENSEAt trial, the State argued that McNeil committed murderwhen she killed Ray. McNeil’s defense was that she killedRay because she feared for her life. She presented this defensethrough the testimony of an expert on BWS and through herown testimony regarding her history of abuse at the hands of Ray.
That was taken from her appeal transcript.
McNeil is Sally mcneil and
Ray is Ray Mcneil.
Sally present evidence that she was abused in her first marriage and this caused her to be HYPERSENSITIVE TO further abuse from anyone.
The judge instructed the jurors on 4 charges, one of which was voluntary manslaughter. That could have been offered as a plea bargain - and only her lawyer, Sally and the prosecutors would know about it.
If it was offered, she should have taken it. She wasn't rich enough to pull a Blake or a Simpson.
