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Mar 21, 2019 · Francine Hughes killed her abusive husband in 1977 and became a symbol of the battered women's movement. Learn about her ordeal, the book based on her story, and the history of spousal abuse in America.
Francine Moran Hughes (later Wilson; August 17, 1947 – March 22, 2017) was an American woman who, after thirteen years of domestic abuse, set fire to the bed in which her live-in ex-husband Mickey Hughes was sleeping, on March 9, 1977, in Dansville, Michigan. Mickey was killed and the house destroyed in the resulting fire.
- March 22, 2017 (aged 69), Leighton, Alabama
- Nurse, LPN
- Killing her husband after years of abuse, and being found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity
The plot follows Hughes' trial for the murder of her husband, James Berlin "Mickey" Hughes, following her setting fire to the bed he was sleeping in at their Dansville, Michigan home on March 9, 1977, and thirteen years of physical domestic abuse at his hands.
- Faith McNulty
- Crime, Drama
- 1980
- English
Jul 9, 2020 · Save this story A new documentary looks at the landmark case of Francine Hughes and examines the inequalities in the criminal-justice system’s treatment of women who kill in self-defense.
Mar 30, 2017 · Francine Hughes Wilson, who inspired 'The Burning Bed,' dies at 69. Vickki Dozier. Lansing State Journal. 0:00. 0:52. For more than 12 years, Francine Hughes endured physical abuse at the...
Mar 31, 2017 · The case, widely reported, helped transform the public’s understanding of domestic violence. It became a cause célèbre when “The Burning Bed,” a 1980 book by the New Yorker writer Faith ...
Jun 12, 2023 · The 1984 film is based on the book by Faith McNulty, which chronicles the abuse and trial of Francine Hughes, who set her ex-husband on fire in 1977. The film stars Farrah Fawcett, Paul Le Mat, and Richard Masur, and explores the issue of domestic violence and its legal consequences.
