Unbelievable Injustice

A Texas man has been convicted of the murder of his estranged wife and the attempted murder of her boyfriend. He committed these crimes in the presence of their son, who would have been 10 or 11 at the time.

For the attempted murder of the boyfriend, he received 15 years in prison.

For the murder of his wife, he received four months in prison.

Why? He claimed he acted with 'sudden passion'. In the heat of the moment, he shot her multiple times while she tried to dial 911. According to CNN.com, 'Watkins had admitted the attack but claimed temporary insanity. Texas defines "sudden passion" as being so overcome by rage, resentment or fear that the defendant is "incapable of cool reflection."'

This is sending a great message to society, isn't it? The life of a woman is worth less than that of a man. What would he have received if he had killed the boyfriend and not his wife? A lot more than four months, I'm pretty sure of that! I remember hearing years ago when I was still in school that it is still on the Texas law books that it is permissible to shoot your wife if you catch her in bed with another man. I'm starting to believe the teacher was telling the truth.