State v. Thomas

Defendant was indicted for the murder of Dennis Brown. At her trial, the jury fund her not guilty of murder, but guilty of the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter. After she was sentenced, defendant brought the present appeal.

Defendant and Brown had lived together intermittently, in a common-law marriage, for several years. The relationship was a stormy one, including repeated periods of separation. In the mid-1970’s, they moved to New York City, where Brown forced defendant into a life of prostitution to support both of them, as well as his drug habit. In 1978, they returned to…