Unresolved Domestic Violence Issues Sometimes End in Murder

One of the most tragic aspects of situations involving domestic violence, particularly when it involves children, is that very rarely does a parent not love his or her child. Most parents have an almost innate desire to love and protect their children, even those who, at one point or another, end up murdering them. Such a statement may sound absolutely ridiculous, but it isn't farfetched if you understand the source from which violence often stems. In some cases, of course, it originates in significant mental illness, which is evidenced in the several cases in which mothers drown or burn or strangle their small children. Most abusers have many strong but unrealistic expectations, and seek to control and have power over the lives of their spouse and children, so much so that their very identity and self-esteem becomes rooted in the acquiescence of other family members. If you ask any Chicago domestic violence lawyer what kinds of excuses men and women have offered when charged for the crime of murdering a spouse of child, they will most often affix blame on the victim and minimize their response. Women who contradict abusive men, teenagers who rebel, young children who do something wrong, and infants who will not stop crying all are blamed by the murderer for the act of murder itself. When this happens, it is far too easy for prosecutors and even an untrained Chicago domestic violence lawyer to demonize the abuser as being something other than a complex human being who is privy to his own dysfunctions, which are, more often than not, taught to him or her by other abusive people during childhood. Courts may want to severely punish abusers as if there is no hope of change; but the fact that a good and compassionate Chicago domestic violence lawyer knows is that change is possible. Domestic violence stems primarily from learned behaviors and bad choices related to the need for control, and people can relearn behaviors and learn how to make good choices, learn how to relinquish power and control. It's important, however, for every Chicago domestic violence lawyer, prosecutor, judge and mental health professional to recognize and seek measures to encourage abusers to relearn behaviors at early stages, before several cycles down the line, the violence becomes murderous and it is too late. Those who have been charged with domestic violence may face mandated therapy as part of sentencing, rather than prison. A good domestic violence lawyer will work to make that happen.