Supreme Court Denies Appeal in Hammer Assault

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Supreme Court has upheld a Helena woman's conviction and 40-year prison sentence for trying to kill her husband by hitting him in the head with a hammer.

Jill Marie Lotter's appeal argued District Judge Kathy Seeley erred in not allowing an expert witness to testify about battered woman syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Independent Record reports (http://bit.ly/1arLHcj) the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Lotter presented no evidence to prove she suffered from battered woman syndrome other than demeaning or degrading comments her husband might have made.

Lotter's husband was struck in the head with the claw side of a hammer about 20 times during the three-hour assault in November 2010. She was convicted of attempted deliberate homicide in December 2012.