if that's the case, could she go for a self-defense plea? that way there's a chance two young girls won't be robbed of the only parent they have left. i agree, she probably just snapped.

of course killing is wrong for whatever reason and she'll probably be punished but i wasn't there when it happened so i don't think i have the right to condemn her for what she did. it's pretty naive to think a divorce or getting help to make him sober would solve anything at that particular moment when it happened (although i think she should've left him long ago, this wouldn't have happened). from experience, the behavior of an alcoholic is different from other people when they're drunk. it's not as simple as coming home drunk and throwing up on the bed. some of them behave so horribly you'd think they're better off dead.

i have an uncle who's an alcoholic and while he's so nice when he's sober, he turns into a completely different, scary creature when he's drunk and does a lot of crazy stuff. he's gone in and out of rehab a couple of times but gets back to his habit the minute he gets out. it got so bad he got fired from his government job (the probability of which is almost impossible). it's frustrating and emotionally draining to see someone you care for destroy himself like that.