Stay up to date with all the action surrounding The Sin by Silence Bill – AB 593.

Visit the site at www.SinBySilenceBill.com, gain more information and help spread the word.

Sign the online petition to Encourage California legislators to give the incarcerated battered women of California the freedom and justice they have deserved for decades.

While rapists can serve as little as 36 months and manslaughter charges can end in less than five years, there are nearly 60 incarcerated battered women who are serving decades past their minimal sentences for acting in self-defense.  We urge California legislators to understand the issues and challenges facing victims who are domestic violence’s worst case scenarios: women that have killed their abusers and survivors who were convicted of other crimes related to their experiences of long term abuse. Pass AB593 that will give these women the opportunity to return home to their families.

Want to be part of history?

Download a sample letter of support and lend your voice to encourage California legislators to give the women of CWAA the opportunity to receive the freedom and justice they have deserved for decades.

Include your own edits/comments, add to official letterhead, and email your signed letter to info@sinbysilence.com or send it directly to Assemblywoman Ma’s office via the address stated on letter or by fax to (916) 319-2112 – Attn: Gina Frisby.

Or add your signature to our online petition to send California legislators the message that you support AB593.

Want to learn more about the Sin By Silence Bill?  Click here.

Summary

AB 593 seeks to clarify Penal Code 1473.5 to include the domestic violence victims that were unintentionally denied their original writ of habeas corpus due to limited expert testimony evidence.

Background & Problem:

In the United States, one in four women will experience domestic violence over the course of her life. In 2006 alone, California law enforcement received 176,299 domestic violence calls and Californians placed around 20,000 calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. While there are many possible avenues for a victim to receive help today, many victims before 1996 were unable to receive help or did not know about keeping a record of their abuse.

Several hundred women in California are serving time for killing their batterers and hundreds, if not thousands, more are serving time for domestic violence-related crimes. Of the 45 women on death row in 1993, about half had a history of abuse and were there for killing an abusive spouse or lover.

A California state prison study found that 93% of the women who had killed their significant others had been battered by them; 67% of these women indicated the homicide resulted from an attempt to protect themselves or their children.

In 1991, the Legislature enacted AB 785, which amends Evidence Code Section 1107 to allow expert testimony on Intimate Partner Battering and its Effects (IPB) to be introduced as evidence in cases where battered women are charged with crimes related to their experiences of being abused.  IPB testimony was intended to educate juries about domestic violence and help them understand the
effects of the abuse on the defendant at the time of the crime. This law did not apply retroactively and only affected the trials of domestic violence victims after 1992.

In 2002, the Legislature passed SB 799 and SB 1385 in 2005, which allows incarcerated victims of domestic violence who were convicted of crimes related to their experiences of being abused are able to submit a petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging their original convictions. Such petitioners can seek a new trial, a reduced sentence, or another equitable remedy if expert testimony on intimate partner battering and its effects was not received into evidence during their original trial proceedings, and it is reasonable to believe that the outcome of the trial would have been different with such expert testimony. Since expert testimony on IPB was a new type of evidence, some judges limited the expert’s testimony in ways that prejudiced the battered woman on trial.

While SB 799 was intended to provide relief for all domestic violence victims who lacked expert testimony during their original trial proceedings, some battered women have been denied access to this relief because they did have limited expert testimony during their original trials, even though this testimony was deficient by today’s standards.

Additionally, due to the amount of time needed to investigate these 20+ year old cases, only 16 women have successfully petitioned for a writ and been released. According to the Habeas Project, which helps find legal representation for women that qualify under Penal Code 1473.5, there are 19 women still waiting for attorneys; some of whom have been waiting for over 5 years. By the time legal representation is found, investigations are conducted and habeas petitions are prepared, the current sunset clause in P.C. 1473.5 may preclude these women from seeking relief.

Solution:

AB 593 captures the original intent of SB 799 and rectifies the problem with current law by allowing victims of domestic violence whose expert testimony was limited during their trial court proceedings to file for a writ of habeas corpus.

AB 593 also gives victims more time to receive legal representation by deleting the sunset date currently in the statute.

Support:

California Habeas Project
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence

Want to lend your support? Click here.

Sign the Online Petition

Lend your signature to our online petition to send California legislators the message that you support AB593.

Send a Support Letter

Download a sample letter of support and lend your voice to encourage California legislators to give incarcerated battered women the opportunity to receive the freedom and justice they have deserved for decades.

Include your own edits/comments, add to official letterhead, and email your signed letter to info@sinbysilence.com or send it directly to Assemblywoman Ma’s office via the address stated on letter or by fax to (916) 319-2112 – Attn: Gina Frisby.

Get to Know the Facts

Want to learn more about the Sin By Silence Bill?  Click here to read the Facts Sheet.

Read the press release from our legislation advocate, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. She has opened so many doors for our Sin by Silence Bill to be heard! 

Bill to Bring Justice to Incarcerated Victims of Domestic Violence,Passes out of Assembly Committee on Public Safety

SACRAMENTO –Assemblywoman Fiona Ma’s (D-San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) AB 593 got through one of its first hurdles today as it passed out of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety.

As the chair of the Domestic Violence Select Committee, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma has hosted informational hearings to understand the issues and challenges of incarcerated domestic violence victims. One of the cases that became the catalyst behind AB 593 was that of Brenda Clubine’s, a domestic violence victim.

“Today is a great success, as we continue the state’s progress to help incarcerated victims of domestic violence seek justice. This bill will ensure other women like Brenda can have a second chance to tell their stories and be judged fairly with all the facts in place.”

In 1983, after enduring years of abuse, Brenda was convicted of second degree murder with a 16 years to life sentence. A California prison study found that 93% of women who committed homicide did so in attempt to protect themselves or their children from a violent spouse. As a result of this type of behavior, in 1992 Intimate Partner Battering and its Effects (IPC) also known as Battered Women’s Syndrome, was allowed to be introduced and weigh in as evidence in cases where battered women were charged with crimes relating to their experiences of being abused. However, for Brenda and women like her, this law did not apply retroactively and only effected the cases of domestic violence victims after 1992.

As Brenda stated in her testimony in committee today, “When I went to trial, I was only 20 and scared out of my mind. How did I get here?  How did this ever happen to me?  I never meant to take my husband’s life… I had piles of evidence, reports and paperwork of my abuse to show what lead up to that night of the crime. Yet, it was not allowed to be presented to the jury… even my expert witness was not allowed in the courtroom to testify on my behalf.”

In 2002, the Legislature passed SB 799 by Senator Betty Karnette which allows incarcerated victims of domestic violence who were convicted of crimes relating to their experiences of being abused, where the crime occurred before August 1996, to submit a petition for writ of habeas corpus. As a result of this bill, in October 2008 Brenda Clubine was retried and released after serving 26 years in prison due to enough evidence of IPC.

There are many cases just like Brenda’s that have yet to be heard or were overlooked due to the inclusion of expert testimony. Judges simply did not have an understanding of what was admissible. AB 593 seeks to address this issue by doing two things: it will allow victims of domestic violence whose expert testimony was limited at their trial court proceedings to re-file for a writ of habeas corpus to allow this expert testimony to weigh in on their defense and it will also give victims more time to receive legal representation by deleting the sunset date currently in statute.

According to the Habeas Project, there are currently 19 women still waiting for an attorney-some of who have been waiting for over five years. There is currently no state or local paid legal representation available for cases like Brenda’s so it falls upon attorneys to volunteer and help women like Brenda.

AB 593 will now head to the Assembly floor for a vote which is yet to be scheduled.

Benvenuti in Sin By Silence Italia

Troverete qui le ultime notizie sul gruppo CWAA (Convincted Women Against Abuse – Donne incriminate contro l’abuso), tutte le iniziative legate al documentario e tante altre informazioni.

La battaglia di queste donne straordinarie è una battaglia che ci riguarda tutte e tutti.

La voce della violenza non può e non deve sovrastare le voci di coloro che la stanno combattendo o subendo.

Da dietro le sbarre, loro stanno cambiando la storia.

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