bruffin the case you refer to as the burning bed, is kiranjit Ahluwalia and she was found guilty of murder and went to prison.
There was a massive campaign to free her but it took years.
Posting one or two cases where emotional abuse has actually been an effective defence for a woman, doesn't alter the figures: women get higher sentences on average for murdering their partners (which they do far more rarely by the way) than men do.
I think what this shows is the fact that men can use the defence of "emotional abuse" when their chattels female partners get uppity. That is what is a real danger here - the emotional abuse defence can be a valid one, but I bet you that we are going to see it used more and more successfully by violent men to justify their murders of uppity women. A woman with a new baby who sees her husband behave abusively, will have her wish to set boundaries and possibly take the nuclear option of leaving, be re-defined as emotional abuse and psychological bullying.
And let's make no mistake about this please, a new father who goes on an alcoholic bender is behaving abusively. The ludicrous idea that he's forced to go on a bender for work purposes is just bending over backwards to make excuses for his abusive behaviour. He might have to go and show his face for a bit, but there isn't an employer in the country who force-feeds their workers booze and would look askance at a new father who leaves a social event involving alcohol early in order to be with his child. That's what a normal father would do, the abusive ones stay there, get pissed and claim it's all for work - and there are actually women who buy that and tell other women that we should believe it.
This tendency of violent men to claim that any measure women take to stand up for themselves or set boundaries in our relationships is emotional abuse or psychological bullying, is just the newest tactic in the age old war on women. It sounds so plausible doesn't it? The "women can be abusive too!" crowd will love it - you know, the ones who think a new mother expecting her co-parent to actually do some parenting is controlling and manipulative, while a man who breaks down a door and rejects one murder weapon in favour of a more effective one is actually being oppressed by the unreasonable demands of his victim - I expect to see more and more violent murderers walk free or get reduced sentences in the future as they take advantage of the average jury's misogynist attitudes.
Women, don't you dare threaten to leave an abusive man.
That's emotional abuse, innit. 