Morbid

Podbit · Morbid

Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt

Explore episode Jul 27, 2026
Government
Marital Rape Wasn't Illegal Before the Mid-1970s

Lorena and John Wayne Bobbitt · Jul 27, 2026 Government

Before the mid-1970s, rape within marriage was explicitly exempt from criminal law across the U.S. — a husband could not be prosecuted for sexually assaulting his wife. By the early 1990s, several states still had no marital rape law. In Virginia, the charge also required the couple to be living apart. The Bobbitt case forced a national reckoning with laws many Americans didn't even know existed.

3m 23s

Where this was said

Charges Filed & the Legal History of Marital Rape

At 33:37 · chapter starts 32:40

While the surgeons worked, police arrested Lorena at the nail salon and charged her with malicious wounding — a crime carrying a potential 20-year sentence. But what surprised many was that the prosecutor also charged John with one count of marital sexual assault. This prompted Alaina to pause and deliver what is arguably the most startling piece of legal history in the episode: prior to the mid-1970s, rape within a marriage was simply not illegal in the United States. A husband could not be prosecuted for sexually assaulting his wife. It wasn't until various feminist and activist groups pushed for reform throughout the late '70s and '80s that states slowly began changing their laws — and even then, by the early 1990s, several states still had no marital rape law at all. In Virginia, the charge additionally required that the couple be living apart, meaning the Bobbitts — who had no financial means to separate — were in a catch-22 even under the improved law. Ash and Alaina react with visible disbelief and anger, calling the historical legal framework 'disgusting' and 'horrifying.'

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