Assia Serrano

Assia Serrano is a survivor, an immigrant, an activist, and most of all a loving and caring mother and caretaker who devotes herself to her two U.S. citizen children and her family more broadly, all of whom are in the U.S. Assia was released after being resentenced under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act in […]

Sara Kielly

Sara Kielly is a trans woman and survivor of gender-based violence. From a young age, Sara experienced sexual abuse and severe bullying throughout school because of her sexuality and gender identity. She also experienced developmental issues from a head injury, due to an incident of self harm, at a young age. She joined the army […]

Joy Powell

Joy Powell is an activist, pastor, survivor, and mother who is serving two sentences at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for crimes she did not commit. She was framed for a burglary-assault by an abusive ex-partner. During her trial, she was sentenced by an all-white jury and was not able to provide witnesses. She was sentenced […]

Annette Farrell

Annette “Annie” Farrell is a proud survivor and mother of four young children, currently serving a term of 15 years at   Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. After striving for over a decade to protect herself and her family from their abusive father, Annie was convicted of aiding him in the crime of sexual assault.  At […]

Tanisha Davis

Tanisha Davis is a caring 32 year-old single mother serving a 14-year sentence in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women after acting in self-defense against her abusive partner. In 2013, she was convicted by a Rochester jury of first-degree manslaughter, after stabbing her violent abuser a single time in the shoulder in an act of […]

Joanne Armour

Joanne Armour is serving 20 years to life for defending herself and her 14 year old daughter against an attack from her close friend of eight years, Lacandace Miles, in December of 2013. Despite her desire to go to trial, she maintains that she was pressured into taking a plea after she felt threatened with […]

Breanna Simpson

Breanna Simpson is serving 25 years for defending herself against a man who tried to kill her on numerous occasions. She is a survivor of a long struggle to be free of drugs and alcohol, the loss of custody of her children, and severe abuse at the hands of men in three successive relationships. Breanna […]

Cynthia Galens

Cynthia Galens is a survivor of three abusive relationships, including two marriages. The third relationship ended in the death of Kevin Stack, for which she is serving a sentence of 23 years. Cynthia acknowledges that she poisoned Kevin after he had threatened her life and the life of her young daughter. Her intent was for […]

Laura Martin

Laura Martin is serving a 20-year sentence for killing her father, a man who had physically and sexually abused her since childhood and who threatened to do the same to her five-year-old daughter. Throughout her childhood, Laura Martin’s father molested her. No family member ever intervened or even acknowledged the abuse. In response, Laura began […]

Theresa Debo

Theresa Debo has survived a lifetime of horrific abuse. Now 14 years into a 22-years-to-life sentence for second degree murder, Theresa will turn 62 in November 2018. Unless Governor Cuomo grants clemency, she will remain in prison until she is at least 70 years old. From early childhood, Theresa suffered severe physical abuse by her […]