Francine Hughes
Encyclopedia
Francine Hughes was a battered wife
who, after thirteen years of domestic abuse, set her husband aflame while he slept on March 9, 1977. James Hughes was killed and the house destroyed in the resulting inferno.
Hughes told her children to put on their coats and wait in the car. She then started a fire with gasoline
poured around her sleeping husband's bed. The house burst into flames as she drove, with her children in the car, to the police station so she could confess to the killing.
After trial in Lansing
, Hughes was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Hughes' story was made into a book and a subsequent film in 1984 titled The Burning Bed
starring Farrah Fawcett
. Folk singer Lyn Hardy also created a song about these events entitled "The Ballad of Francine Hughes".
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
who, after thirteen years of domestic abuse, set her husband aflame while he slept on March 9, 1977. James Hughes was killed and the house destroyed in the resulting inferno.
Hughes told her children to put on their coats and wait in the car. She then started a fire with gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
poured around her sleeping husband's bed. The house burst into flames as she drove, with her children in the car, to the police station so she could confess to the killing.
After trial in Lansing
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
, Hughes was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Hughes' story was made into a book and a subsequent film in 1984 titled The Burning Bed
The Burning Bed
The Burning Bed is a non-fiction book by Faith McNulty about battered Dansville, Michigan, housewife Francine Hughes. It was adapted to a film with screenplay by Rose Leiman Goldemberg. After thirteen years of domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, James Berlin Hughes, she set fire to the...
starring Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
. Folk singer Lyn Hardy also created a song about these events entitled "The Ballad of Francine Hughes".