Big News in North Carolina – Cynthia Shackelford has been awarded several million dollars from her husband’s mistress.

Cynthia Shackelford, 60, sued her husband Allan's mistress Anne Lundquist for alienation of affection which is allowed under North Carolina case law. Shackelford charged that Lundquist broke up her 33-year marriage.

Last week, a jury awarded Shackelford $5 million in compensator damage and $4 million in punitive damages to be paid by Lundquist, ABC News reported.

There are all kinds of implications with this particular verdict; one has to wonder if the fate of South Carolina’s First Lady Jenny Sanford had anything to do with the outcome of the Cynthia Shackelford case. Maybe, maybe not. But in a weird, kind of retro, déjà vu atmosphere, Lundquist has been found to owe her counterpart damages – both compensatory and punitive.

There are several sides to this story. Years ago, Texas had in place the “paramour” law, which excused men from capital murder charges for killing men they caught in bed with their wives. Interestingly, the law did NOT afford women the same out for such a murder.

In the North Carolina courtroom, Cynthia Shackelford’s nemisis was criticized (and later convicted) for methodically going after a man that she KNEW was married. We women have made strides, after all.

For all of the progress women have made as a result of the women’s movement, we’ve still a long way to go. After all, where was MR. Shackelford in all of this “blame game”? Playing golf, somewhere at best; at worst, he flew to Argentina to be with a mistress who is more discreet than Ms. Lundquist.