Domestic violence in Las Vegas is one of the more common charges in the city. It is not always reported in the media, but it consistently ranks among some of the most booked charges in town. Nevada criminal law in general has a strict penalty setup for domestic violence offenders, especially if they happen to be repeat offenders.
May criminals tend to justify their actions as a means of self-affirmation. Some convicted domestic violence offenders do the same, particularly repeat offenders or those who have enhanced charges. Let’s make a review at a few commonly invoked justifications for committing domestic violence.
Spur-of-the-Moment Emotions
Instances of domestic violence always involve strong emotions. It could be a variety of things: despair, confusion, denial, or disillusionment, on top of other things. However, one emotion that is always present is a strong sense of anger; such a strong emotion usually leads to some seriously dangerous actions when the domestic abuse incident happens. Many domestic violence defendants would claim that they did not commit any abuse, but was merely a sudden action caused by a sudden burst of anger and that they do not act like it regularly. Sudden anger is one of the most common defenses put up by domestic violence defendants to brush off charges, usually following it up with statements like ‘a stressful day’ or ‘pent-up frustrations’. Unfortunately for them, ‘anger issues’ can be used against them to prove that they are domestic abusers.
Traumatic Incidents
Most domestic abusers would blame a series of traumatic incidents in their youth to explain why they act as they do. They would cite particular incidents where they themselves were allegedly abused in similar circumstances, and blame their current disposition on these past events. While there are studies that connect PTSD to increased aggression and domestic violence tendencies, using it as an excuse just raises the question of why the defendant did not seek help before things escalated to an arrest and a court hearing. Instead of acting on their past trauma with the help of a professional, they choose to take it all out on their partner.
Injury-Related Personality Changes
Some domestic violence offenders insist that their partner abuse was the result of a traumatic brain injury that they have suffered in the past, either in their childhood years or later. They may be able to find witnesses who can confirm that they had a drastic personality change after said accident, like increased aggression and a shorter temper. However, suffering brain injuries due to accidents does not always explain coercive behavior towards a spouse; in some cases, the brain injury is merely fabricated and that people around them do not know that they have been manipulative and abusive even before the accident. Other cases may involve defendants with actual brain injury using it as an excuse, unaware that they were inherently abusive since the beginning.
Substance Abusers
Research confirms the strong link between domestic violence and substance abuse. While not all domestic violence offenders consume alcohol or drugs, many substance abusers also happen to be domestic abusers; higher substance use correlated to increased instances of domestic abuse and coercion of spouses in many cases. Unfortunately, many domestic violence offenders fall back on their previous drug abuse history to explain their behavior. This does not always explain the full picture of the situation, and in many cases the family abuse isn’t exactly related to substance abuse. Even after going through a rehab program, some offenders continue to act coercively towards their spouses.
Blame Shifting
One of the worst kinds of justifications used by domestic violence offenders is to blame their partner for their history of abusive behavior. They often say things like the partner getting in their face one too many times, excessive nagginess, or an outright direct callout to make the defendant mad in the first place. The excuse falls flat because getting angry is often a conscious thing, and blaming the partner for an action that is theirs alone incriminates them even more.
There is no merit in justifying acts of domestic violence, no matter what situation incited it. Remember these in the event that you are charged with a domestic violence complaint in Las Vegas.