Angelina Napolitano, Domestic Violence Victim
First Battered Wife Syndrome Defence in Canada
Dec 2, 2008
Angelina was born March 12, 1882 in a rural town near Naples, Italy. She married Pietro Napolitano in 1898 then migrated with him to New York in 1901 where they resided for several years. They then moved to Thessalon, Ontario, Canada and finally to Sault Ste. Marie where they rented quarters in the little Italy section and Pietro worked as a labourer.
In November 1910 Pietro disfigured Angelina in the face, neck, and shoulder when he knifed her nine times. She was hospitalized for two weeks and he was given a suspended sentence on the assault charges. Pietro’s alcohol consumption and abusive behaviour increased until that fateful day when Angelina killed him. He wanted her to prostitute herself to make money for a house. She refused to “be a bad woman”, as she stated during the trial.
Easter Sunday Murder Charge
On Easter Sunday, April 16, 1911, before taking an afternoon nap he told the terrified woman that he would kill her or take the children away if she did not have money for him when he awakened. While he slept, Angelina age 29 and pregnant, struck her husband with an axe several times. She called a neighbour, told him what she had done and waited for the police to come. Their four children were removed by the Children’s Aid Society.
Justice Byron Moffatt Britton presided over Angelina’s trial in the town’s district court. On opening day May 8, 1911 when it was apparent that Angelina had no counsel, the proceedings were adjourned to the next day. Uriah McFadden, her court-appointed lawyer had no witnesses other than the defendant who did not fully understand the language. Crown Attorney Edmund Meredith had nine witnesses. Elements of racism entered into some public discussions and newspaper reports. Despite the fact that scars from the knife attack were visible, Justice Britton ruled that evidence of Pietro’s violence against Angelina was inadmissible.
Battered Woman Syndrome Defence
After a three-hour trial Angelina was convicted and sentenced to hang on August 9, 1911 although the jury had recommended clemency. The execution date was set to allow time for Angelina to give birth to her fifth child. She is considered the first woman in Canada to use the battered-woman syndrome defence in a murder case.
Petitions and Letters
News of the verdict and sentence caused a media frenzy. A flood of lengthy petitions and letters urging sentence commutation arrived in the federal justice minister’s office. From Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto, New York, Chicago, and Montreal, from Austria and Poland, the correspondence arrived. Angelina’s lawyer took up the cause as did a men’s Bible group. Supporters asked that Angelina’s history of abuse be acknowledged and that her life be spared. Canadian, British, and American feminists were instrumental in keeping her case in the forefront.
A member of the Toronto Council of Women offered to pay the Children’s Aid Society for care of the four children so that they could remain together, but they were placed in separate foster homes in Ontario.
The New York Times
An item in the June 23rd issue of The New York Times quoted Dr. Alexander Aalto of Cleveland, Ohio who said that he would be willing to hang in place of Angelina. He stated “it would only be fair to Mrs. Napolitano for a man to give his life for her, inasmuch as her life is in peril on account of a man’s persecution of her, and because men condemned her”.
Death Penalty Commuted
On July 14, 1911 the federal cabinet commuted her sentence to life imprisonment. Newspaper stories kept the public informed of Angelina’s children who remained in the care of the Children’s Aid Society. Portions of their letters to their mother were published, and it was noted that Angelina was hand sewing clothes for her new baby. Angelina’s baby died a few weeks after birth.
Angelina wrote regularly to the Justice Department asking for her freedom. Over time only the Salvation Army continued the efforts on her behalf, and offered to care for her if she were released on parole.
On December 30, 1922, Angelina left Kingston Prison. Led to believe that she had to stay in the city until authorized to move, she worked as a domestic servant when all she wanted was to reunite with her children. Finally she wrote to the Governor General for permission to go to them, and quickly learned that she had never been prevented from leaving Kingston. There are no records of her meeting with her children. Her story in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography On Line Vol. XV finishes with “The trail ends after she left Kingston in the spring of 1924”.
Family History Records
A keen interest in history and genealogy led to the following discoveries:
Death Certificate: Angelina Napolitano, widow, employed at housework; born March 12, 1882 in Italy; surname Distefano; died September 4, 1932 at Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston, Frontenac County, Ontario.
Birth Certificate: (Delayed Statement of Birth): Pearl Napolitano, born August 26, 1906, Thessalon, Algoma District; Father, Peter Napolitano; Mother, Angelina Distefano.
In 2005 Angelina Napolitano's story was turned into an award-winning, independent film,
Source: Improper Advances: Rape and Heterosexual Conflict in Ontario 1880-1929 by Karen DubinskyPublished by University of Chicago Press, 1993
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