>Lorena stated that John sexually, physically, and emotionally abused her during their marriage. She said that he flaunted his infidelities, and had forced her to have an abortion. Her defense attorneys, which included well known defense lawyer Blair D. Howard, maintained that his constant abuse caused her to eventually "snap" as she was suffering from clinical depression and a possible bout of post traumatic stress disorder due to the abuse.[5] John denied the allegations of abuse; however, when he was cross-examined by Howard, his statements often conflicted with known facts, severely weakening the prosecution's case.[5]
>Lorena testified that John had raped her and physically battered her on multiple occasions prior to the evening of the severing of his penis, that they lacked financial stability, and that he stole and spent her earnings. Both the prosecution and defense sides conceded that he had demonstrated a history of abuse toward her, and that this abuse created a context for the assault. Expert witnesses "for both the prosecution and the defense testified that he had mentally and physically battered her, that the abuse was escalating, and that by 1993 she lived in constant fear of him."[6] One expert witness testified, in accordance with a defense strategy that emphasized her action as being a mix of self-defense and temporary insanity constituting an "irresistible impulse" due to the history and pattern of abuse and rape, that "Lorena believed and was immobilized by John's threat 'I will find you, whether we're divorced or separated. And wherever I find you, I'll have sex with you whenever I want to.' "[7] John Bobbitt was later acquitted of rape.[8]
Regardless of if the abuse was true, it doesn't sound like either person was making that a particularly healthy relationship.
