Nationwide — Latoya Dickens, an African American mom from Gwinnett County, Georgia who spent 25 years in jail for killing her abusive husband, now advocates for home violence survivors. After being granted parole in September, she started sharing her story to lift consciousness concerning the unfair remedy survivors face in courtroom.
In 1998, Dickens was sentenced to life in jail for stabbing and killing her husband throughout a violent altercation. She had endured 14 years of abuse, together with incidents like being thrown off a porch whereas eight months pregnant, in keeping with WSB-TV.
On the day of the stabbing, Dickens tried to go away, however her husband disabled her automotive. “He shoved me to the couch, and all the things occurred so quick,” she recalled, including, “I keep in mind calling 911.”
Dickens’ lawyer, Janis Mann, mentioned her trial targeted on the incident however didn’t contemplate her historical past of abuse. Mann later labored with the Georgia Coalition Towards Home Violence to current proof of the abuse she had endured over time. This proof performed a key position within the parole board’s resolution to grant her launch.
Furthermore, Ellie Williams, who’s from the coalition, famous that survivors are sometimes sentenced harshly as a result of the authorized system overlooks the complete context of a survivor’s historical past of abuse. She mentioned, “Courts are actually one particular second in time and that the legislation isn’t written in a method that we are able to contemplate context, circumstance, historical past.”
Statistics present that 77% of home violence homicides occur when victims try to go away. In Georgia, practically half of home violence fatalities contain relationships that started when the victims have been teenagers. Dickens was solely 13 years outdated when she met her then-17-year-old husband.
“I don’t really feel like I’ve ever been free,” Dickens mentioned, reflecting on her journey. Now, Dickens is devoted to supporting different survivors.
“The remainder of my life goes to be about serving to individuals get to the place I’m immediately and that’s on the opposite facet,” she advised 11Alive. ” I need to make it possible for I can stay a face for home violence and that I can assist assist the ladies which are nonetheless on the within, as a result of I really feel like all of them deserve a second likelihood, similar to I’ve been given immediately.”
