A more thorough explanation:

Battered-woman syndrome is a medical and psychological condition that affects women who have suffered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their spouse or partner. It was first described in the 1970s by Dr. Lenore Walker and is characterized by a three-stage cycle of violence.

1. Tension-building stage: This stage may include verbal and mild physical abuse. The abuser may become increasingly irritable, and the victim may feel like they are walking on eggshells.
2. Acute battering stage: This stage includes stronger verbal abuse, increased physical violence, and perhaps rape or other sexual abuse. The victim may feel trapped and helpless.
3. Loving-contrition stage: This stage includes the abuser's apologies, attentiveness, kindness, and gift-giving. The victim may feel hopeful that the abuse will stop and may believe that the abuser truly loves them.

Battered-woman syndrome is sometimes used as a defense to justify or mitigate a woman's killing of a man. For example, if a woman kills her abusive partner in self-defense, she may argue that she was suffering from battered-woman syndrome and feared for her life.

One example of battered-woman syndrome is the case of Francine Hughes, who killed her abusive husband in 1977 after years of physical and emotional abuse. Her story was later made into a movie called "The Burning Bed."

Another example is the case of Marissa Alexander, who fired a warning shot at her abusive husband in 2010 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She later had her sentence reduced after arguing that she was acting in self-defense due to battered-woman syndrome.

These examples illustrate how battered-woman syndrome can affect a woman's behavior and decision-making in abusive relationships. It is important for victims of abuse to seek help and support to break the cycle of violence and protect themselves from harm.