Roberta
Roberta was awakened one night when her husband, who had abused her for years, returned home high on cocaine and dragged her out of bed by her hair. He banged her head against the wall repeatedly and when she escaped, chased her through the house, punched her in the face, and stomped on her. She fled to the bedroom, but he trapped and began to choke her. Fearing for her life, she grabbed a butter knife from the bedside table and stabbed at him once in the chest. She was charged with 2nd Degree Murder.
Over the course of four years, Roberta participated in all of the STEPS groups available. Two of her children participated in the Children’s Therapy Program and both attended Girls’ Rock Camp through the donation of one of our private funders. STEPS ATI staff acted as both legal and social work support. They helped with testimony preparation, searched for hospital records, selected an expert witness on domestic violence, and enlisted New York University Law School to obtain assistance from their law students with paralegal and investigative support. During the trial, we provided crisis intervention and emotional support to Roberta’s children, friends, and family so she could focus on her testimony, which lasted almost two days. The jury returned a full acquittal, deliberating for less time than it took the prosecution to make their closing arguments.
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Vicky
Vicky lost her mother to a drug overdose when she was a year old and grew up surrounded by violence, sexual abuse, and addiction. Her ex-boyfriend was extremely physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive. Despite a five-year order of protection and numerous Domestic Incident Reports, the police refused to arrest him even though he continued to stalk and beat her.
One day, hours after punching her in the face and choking her, he beat on her apartment door over several hours threatening to kill her. Later that night Vicky left her apartment and met her ex in the hallway, where she stabbed him 5 times. She was charged with Murder 2. The prosecution offered a 15-year plea but she refused and spent two years in jail awaiting trial.
STEPS advocates worked extensively with Vicky at Riker’s Island. She had regular individual counseling sessions and also attended numerous STEPS groups. Most critically, STEPS motivated Vicky’s legal team to believe in the power of her story as they were worried how the jury would interpret the fact that Vicky left the supposed safety of her apartment causing the final struggle to occur in the hallway. STEPS secured an expert witness who convinced the jury that with her history of trauma, Vicky would feel that nowhere was safe from her abuser. Therefore, the fact that she went into the hallway was irrelevant to her claim of self-defense. STEPS staff worked extensively to prepare Vicky for trial and provide support to her and her family during the ordeal. After she acquitted of all charges, eight of the jurors waited over two hours in the cold for Vicky to be discharged so they could offer their blessings and support.
*All names have been changed to protect client confidentiality