One Woman's Survival of the California Justice System

Abstract

I shot and killed my husband as he slept after two and a half years of an abusive marriage. My children were outside of our house at the time; I pushed my daughter in a stroller and held my son's hand as we walked to a phone booth where I called the police. I was immediately arrested and my children were placed in emergency foster care because of my crime. This happened in 1982. I was able to make bail three months later and worked two jobs until my trial one year later, living with my children at my parents' home in Ohio. I was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to serve six years in the California prison system. Working reduced the sentence to a total of three years.