Francine Hughes Wilson, who inspired 'The Burning Bed,' dies at 69
For more than 12 years, Francine Hughes endured physical abuse at the hands of her husband James "Mickey" Hughes.
It was 40 years ago March 9, that Hughes walked into the Ingham County Jail in Mason and confessed that, fearing for her life, she had set fire to her home in Dansville, where Hughes, by that time her ex-husband, was sleeping.
On March 22, Francine Wilson — she had remarried and taken the last name of her second husband Robert Wilson — died after a bout with pneumonia in Leighton, Alabama. She was 69.
A jury of 10 women and two men found her not guilty by reason of insanity of Hughes' murder.
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"The Burning Bed": A turning point in fight against domestic violence
The case would became a turning point in the growing movement against domestic violence. It inspired the bestselling book "The Burning Bed," the TV movie of the same name starring Farah Fawcett and Paul Lemat, a folk song and a hit for country star Martina McBride ("Independence Day").
"She had this upbeat demeanor and was just so caring and loving and happy," said Molly Wilson, Francine Wilson's granddaughter, who she adopted. "I lived with her my entire life and didn't find out about what happened until I was 10 or 11 years old.
"She didn’t feel like it was something to be proud of. She never felt justified. She never felt free. I think that's kind of why she kept it low key because I think she was ashamed and haunted by it."
Francine divorced Mickey Hughes in 1971 but he moved back in with her after being seriously injured in a car wreck.
On the day Mickey Hughes died, two police officers had been called to the home in response to a domestic quarrel complaint. Deputies testified that Hughes told his wife "it was all over for her" because she called the police, was verbally abusing her, made numerous threats that he would kill her and threatened deputies, as well.
That day, Francine said, he beat her viciously and forbade her from going back to school.
Molly Wilson said Robert Wilson helped Francine to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse and that she graduated as the valedictorian of her class. She was an LPN and worked at several nursing homes. After she retired, she would sit with the elderly. She also taught a nursing class.
"She was trying to go to nursing school when she was married to Mickey, but there was testimony that he made her burn her school books and rip them up," Wilson said.
Francine had four children with Mickey: Christy, James, Dana and Nicole. The oldest two testified that Mickey beat Francine, would swear at her, would rip the phone out of the wall and that they often fled when he was drunk.
"My mom had a really great sense of humor and could make anybody laugh in any time of distress," said Nicole Hughes, Francine's youngest daughter. "We were miserable in that house. It was an everyday thing with my dad, the beatings, the abuse."
Nicole was 7 years old at the time.
"As a kid, you know something is wrong, but you’re taught to run and hide. You just have to listen and cry. Mom was strong. We never went hungry or never went without anything we needed. I believe she did it all to save us kids and herself. He was definitely on a path to kill us."
Francine's attorney, Arjen Greydanus, told the court that Mickey Hughes was a persistent wife beater, that the beatings took place even after the marriage was dissolved and that Hughes threatened to kill her on numerous occasions.
There were few, if any, shelters for women back then. No safe place for her to run to.
Francine got sick with pneumonia in November, and never could quite get her breath back, Wilson said.
"She changed so many lives," Nicole Hughes said. "She changed the lives of people we will never know."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with expenses of Francine's funeral. Any amount received over the $5,000 goal will go to Safe Place, a shelter for battered women in the Shoals area: https://www.gofundme.com/expenses-francine-hughes-wilson
Contact Vickki Dozier at (517) 267-1342 or vdozier@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter@vickkiD.