Survivors of Domestic Violence Deserve Clemency, Not Prison Cells

[mercuryblues]

2. abused women are

damned if they do and damned if they don't.

In December 2006, Tondalo Hall’s boyfriend pled guilty to breaking the ribs and femur of their 3-month-old daughter. For his crime, Robert Braxton Jr. served two years in prison.

In court, prosecutors presented no evidence that Hall herself had harmed the child. But for failing to intervene against Braxton’s abuse, Hall was sentenced to 30 years behind bars.

Her tough sentence was meted out despite evidence that Braxton had also been violently abusing her. In statements to authorities in and out of court, and in a recent interview with BuzzFeed News, Hall described Braxton choking her, punching her, throwing things at her, and verbally assaulting her. Even the judge who sentenced her said that during her testimony, Hall seemed to fear her boyfriend.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexcampbell/this-battered-woman-wants-to-get-out-of-prison#.muevmDRdYx