File:Harriet Wistrich, Julie Bindel and Emma Humphreys, Old Bailey, 7 July 1995.jpeg

Justice for Women supporters on the steps of the Old Bailey, London, 7 July 1995, after the Court of Appeal ordered the release of Emma Humphreys (1967–1998).

"Pale, nervous and very thin, she was engulfed by dozens of cheering women and children outside the courts." (The Independent)

Humphreys had been convicted in 1985, aged 17, of murdering her violent pimp boyfriend.

Left to right: unknown woman (with balloon); Harriet Wistrich, co-founder of Justice for Women (with flowers); Julie Bindel, co-founder of Justice for Women; Emma Humphreys, the appellant; and two unknown women. Bindel is holding Humphreys' hand high.

Wistrich and Bindel helped to secure Humphreys' release after she wrote to them from prison in 1992 asking for help. (See Wistrich, Harriet; Siddiqui, Hannana; Bindel, Julie (Winter 1998/99). "Emma Humphreys Remembered", Trouble and Strife, 38.)

Archive footage from "Emma Humphreys: The Legacy", directed by Pratibha Parmar, courtesy of YouTube, 12 November 2009. Humphreys' poetry is read by Fiona Shaw.

Emma Humphreys

Part

Yes

Currently used as the lead image, the photograph shows the article subject surrounded by members of Justice for Women, including the two women principally responsible for the campaign to overturn her conviction. The article subject was notable for her role in having "battered woman syndrome" recognized as a defence and for the role Justice For Women played in mounting that defence. Her case became a cause célèbre for Justice for Women and other campaigners, and her release was greeted with enthusiasm, something that can best be illustrated by this image. The release was a legal watershed, and images of the group on the steps of the Old Bailey that day became iconic because of what they represented for women's rights in England. The images themselves became the subject of commentary: "It may have calmed down now, but just hours ago the scenes here were ecstatic, as Emma Humphreys, who has spent her entire adult life in prison, walked free." (BBC East Midlands)

No

Humphreys' release that day was much discussed because of the significance of the verdict for English law. The judges reduced the murder charge to manslaughter and ordered that she be released immediately, after accepting the defence argument about long-term provocation. According to The Independent, "[l]awyers said the judgment strengthened and clarified the defence of provocation on behalf of victims of domestic violence driven to kill. It spelt out for the first time that not only must trial judges detail any history of abuse, they must also analyse and explain its significance to the jury."

Examples of coverage:

• Heather Mills (7 July 1995). "Woman who stabbed violent partner freed", The Independent.
• Nicola Davenport (8 July 1995). "Women driven to kill is freed", Daily Express.
• Ying Hui Tan (11 July 1995). "Abnormal traits relevant to provocation", The Independent.
• Anne Bottomley (1996). Feminist Perspectives on The Foundational Subjects of Law. Cavendish Publishing, 201–204.
• "Self-portrait of a teenage killer", The Guardian, 10 November 2003 (shows the same scene from another angle).
• "Emma Humphreys: The Legacy", directed by Pratibha Parmar, courtesy of YouTube, 12 November 2009 (shows some of the news coverage of the release).