Conviction in The Conjoined: Donna’s Repeated Voluntary Manslaughter Emily Berry College

Voluntary manslaughter is defined by as a killing preceded by, “a circumstance that may cause a reasonable person to become emotionally disturbed or considered as a murder fueled by passion or impulse (Jackson 2018).” In Jen Sookfong Lee’s novel, The Conjoined, foster mother Donna experienced this when her foster children Casey and Jamie’s torment brought up memories of her childhood. She neglected to save her brother’s life due to the abuse he put her through. When the girls arrived Donna saw an opportunity to use them to resolve her childhood trauma. Instead, their actions caused her to repeat the past and she fell victim to a state of temporary insanity, briefly unable to understand the consequences of her actions during the criminal act (NOLO 2018). The unreciprocated love and abuse Donna endured combined with her violent tendencies caused her to commit voluntary manslaughter against Casey and Jamie.

While Donna had experience taking care of foster kids, Jamie and Casey brought new challenges. Many times throughout the novel, it was stated that Donna “didn’t need handholding (Lee 87)” as a foster mother. Social workers would count on her to take the kids who were more difficult or required more attention, and Donna would...