She killed her ex-husband in self-defense

Can she now find peace? Rachel Bellesen shot and killed her ex-partner after he attacked her and tried to rape her. What followed was a public trial that would test the lengths necessary to prove self-defence, even after a lifetime of domestic abuse. Allison Griner analyses the complex trial of Bellesen. She explores how the trial highlights the struggles of thousands of cases where the history of domestic abuse has been overlooked as a cause for lowering criminal penalties. "Even when legal strides are made, it can take time for the public – and the justice system by extension – to catch up. 'What we see in many areas,' Schneider explains, 'is that even when the law changes, it can take the public a very, very long time to change.'"