Stabbing of abusive partner draws prison

A woman who stabbed her partner with a kitchen knife after he punched her in the face has been jailed, despite suffering a form of battered women's syndrome.
Leslie Anne Edwards, 51, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison in Tauranga District Court this week.
The Mount Maunganui woman had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Edwards told police she stabbed her partner with a 12cm kitchen knife, which was found in a bedroom at their Terrace Ave home.
Edwards' partner, also 51, suffered stab wounds on his forehead, bicep and stomach, and his liver was lacerated in the attack, which took place in February last year.
A detective who found the man lying on his back on the toilet floor thought he was dying or dead. The floor and walls around the hallway and toilet area were covered in blood.
Edwards told police she and her partner had been arguing in the bedroom. When he punched her in the mouth, she warned him if he did it again, she would kill him.
When he struck her again, Edwardsgot the knife from the kitchen and returned to the bedroom to stab him.
She told police she thought she had struck her partner in the neck. When he collapsed on the floor, she went to a neighbour's house to tell them what she had done.
The court heard that a psychologist's report said Edwards suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a battered woman, after suffering abuse in past relationships.
The report said Edwards, who had been drinking at the time of the attack, had a long-standing drinking problem and often turned to alcohol as a solace.
Crown prosecutor Duncan McWilliam said Edwards had not acted impulsively, and there was an element of premeditation and retaliation in the attack.
Edwards followed through on her threat, despite having an opportunity to leave the house, he said.
Her partner had been left with physical scars, but was also emotionally scarred, he said.
Mr McWilliam sought a jail sentence starting at least 7 1/2years.
Edwards' lawyer Tony Balme said the offending was impulsive rather than pre-meditated, and the injuries inflicted were not life-threatening. He said a jail sentence starting at five years was more appropriate.
Judge Peter Rollo acknowledged Edwards was sick of being punched, and that there was an element of provocation.
But the violent attack on her partner, who was drunk, was unjustified and an over-reaction, the judge said. Home detention was not appropriate.
Judge Rollo gave Edward credit for mitigating factors, including her guilty plea and a restorative justice meeting with the victim and the rehabilitative steps she had taken.