Stories tagged: domestic-violence
How the Criminal Justice System Uses Domestic Violence Programs Against Native Women
by Andrea Smith
In this long article, Smith discusses criminal justice responses to Native American women’s experiences of violence, questioning the effectiveness of relying on the state for responses to violence given the overwhelming evidence of continuing state violence towards Native American communities. In Part Two, Smith then discusses alternative responses to violence. Smith concludes in Part Three with an overview of effective organizing campaigns working to end both state and interpersonal violence against women of color.
activism domestic-violence native-american-prisoners racism
Interview with Rose
by Rose
Rose discusses serving her 10-year sentence for planning to kill her abusive husband. Her interview included a discussion of her relationship to her children, her views on same-sex relationships in prison, her work at the beauty salon, and the racism that she witnessed the guards display against women of color.
domestic-violence motherhood
Interview with Joann Franklin
by Joann Franklin
In this interview with Carolyn Watson, Joann Franklin discusses her life, including drug use and relationship violence, before the arrest that led her to prison. She discusses relationships in prison, including her impression of widespread lesbian relationships in the prison and her own relationships with men housed in the same co-ed prison. She also describes the prison ministry that she started with her husband upon her release.
domestic-violence programs-in-prison relationships
Interview with Hilda Berghammer
by Hilda Berghammer
In the course of being interviewed by Carolyn Watson and Salome Chasnoff, Hilda Berghammer discusses her life beginning with her immigration to the U.S. at age 9. She was involved in a series of abusive relationships, before being arrested on charges related to driving under the influence. She details her experiences inside Cook County Jail and Illinois state prisons, describing the intake process and the physical space of the prison. She also talks about her experiences in prostitution, and discusses her relationship with her son.
domestic-violence motherhood prison-life prostitution substance-abuse
Silent Rage
by Patricia Wright
Patricia tells how she survived domestic violence in her marriage and then was later convicted of hiring someone to kill her ex-husband.
domestic-violence personal-narrative sexual-violence sexuality
Fight for Clemency for Women in Prison for Defending Themselves Against an Abuser
by Margaret Byrne & Michelle VanNatta
The Illinois Clemency Project for Battered Women, was a project made up of prisoners, law students, lawyers, and feminists, who assisted imprisoned women with requesting and fighting for clemency within the state of Illinois.
court-advocacy domestic-violence
A Case of Battered Justice: Theresa Cruz fighting Domestic Violence and State Violence
by Diana Block
This article is a story about Theresa Cruz, a woman who was sentenced to seven years to life after allegedly planning the murder of a man who had abused and stalked her for five years. Cruz’s case is reviewed and for a short period of time she is released, only to be placed back into prison two weeks later. Cruz’s experience is an example of what many battered women have had to face in challenging the law.