Women's rights advocates have applauded a jury for apparently accepting domestic violence as a provoking factor in the Andrina Smith case.

They also expressed hope that the impact of the violence Smith alleged to have suffered from her boyfriend will be considered when her sentence for manslaughter is decided.

The defendant, 26, admitted knifing Edward (Sleepy) Dill to death — but denied murder on the grounds of self defence, claiming he was trying to choke her at the time.

She told a Supreme Court jury of an alleged history of violence on his part that left her with black eyes during their four-year relationship.

And she claimed Mr. Dill — the father of one of her young daughters — said he felt like killing her before punching her, dragging her by her hair, and trying to throttle her on the night in question.

In contrast, the prosecution argued that the victim only hit Smith once — but that the "ringing slap" he delivered to her face provoked her to attack him in a rage, intending to cause serious harm or death.

Smith was ultimately convicted of manslaughter, not murder on Monday. The option of that lesser offence was open to them, they were told by the judge, if they rejected self defence but believed she may have acted after provocation in the heat of the moment, rather than intending to cause death or serious harm.

"I guess I'm pleased that it was accepted by the jury," said Arleen Swan, director of the Physical Abuse Centre.

She explained that domestic violence is known to cause "Batterer Syndrome" — a state of mind where victims retaliate in the heat of the moment, often after a long history of abuse.

"There are probably other mitigating circumstances as well. I'm grateful that the jury did acknowledge the fact that she had been abused, but I think the final telling is going to be on what sentence they give her."

After Smith was convicted, her lawyer Charles Richardson indicated he will argue against a custodial sentence. He also asked for pre-sentence reports including a psychological evaluation to be completed.

"That's certainly important and it's going to be helpful for her," said Mrs. Swan. "I think they are treating this case very sensitively which is encouraging. It could have been a simple 'she murdered him and that was the end of that' but they seemed to recognise it was more than just a simple case."

Kathy Harriott, executive director and clinical supervisor of the Women's Resource Centre, agreed.

"I think the jury probably viewed it as mitigating circumstances. This is not murder, not intentional, not planned. I think that's really significant in a positive way. "Hopefully sentencing will also reflect the circumstances of the situation. In Canada, women have had reduced sentences because of what they've gone through."

Consultant psychologist Susan Adhemar has conducted clinical research into post-traumatic stress experienced by battered women. She feels that the impact of such violence is something the Smith jury could have learned more about.

"I think the psychological report should have been done long before the verdict," she said. "We (psychologists) don't look at what happened, we look at the impact on the victim but litigation doesn't do it like that. The fact that this woman has two young children — there's no such thing as damage limitation here. There has to be in sentencing."

Speaking before the verdict, Mr. Richardson said he opted to argue self defence rather than Batterer Syndrome because that requires a specific diagnosis in the eyes of the law.

The defence must be able to demonstrate a number of cycles of abuse, forgiveness, and reconciliation — which Smith's relationship with Mr. Dill did not quite fall within, he told The Royal Gazette, explaining: "She's not battered according to the legal classification."

Smith's trial — though rare — is not the first time a woman has gone on trial in Bermuda accused of attacking a violent spouse. According to lawyer Julian Hall, he successfully pleaded self defence in a murder case against a woman in the late 1970s.

"There was a fellow who was beating her up a lot and she stabbed him in the chest. She was acquitted on grounds of self defence. Even though there was no evidence of an immediate act upon her there was very clear evidence that he had attacked her many many times," he explained.

In 1995, Delroy Duncan successfully defended a 26-year-old woman accused of attempting to murder her boyfriend by setting him on fire, by arguing she suffered from Batterer Syndrome.

Commenting in the aftermath of the case, Mr. Duncan said it was significant that Chief Justice Austin Ward allowed the defendant to give evidence about physical, sexual and mental abuse she had suffered at the hands of her boyfriend.

He also commented that the public, in his view, needed to know more about the syndrome.