Women behind bars are often survivors of abuse. A series of new laws aim to reduce their sentences

CHICAGO (AP) — Advocates for victims of domestic violence in Illinois celebrated earlier this month when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill making it easier for inmates to get reduced sentences.

Among the cheering crowd was Rep. Kelly Cassidy, sponsor of the House bill. First elected in 2011, Cassidy has since authored legislation to help survivors of gender-based and domestic violence, including the Sentencing Reform Act signed into law in August. The idea is that women who have received harsh sentences without a court hearing on their history of abuse would be given the chance to tell their story in court and potentially receive a new sentence.

“We can make all the laws in the world, but until we take women’s lives seriously, value them, and believe in them, we’re just going to have more tragedies,” Cassidy said.

Illinois is addressing this position with a series of new laws. Only New York and California — and now Oklahoma — have similar resentencing statutes, though efforts are underway in several other states to change the laws. Because the laws reduced sentences, tough-on-crime lawmakers are hard to convince.

But women’s advocates in Illinois have had success getting laws passed, and the state has become a kind of laboratory, Cassidy said. “We’ve figured out how to do it now and can easily share it with other jurisdictions.”

Rep. Kelly Cassidy of Illinois meets with volunteers as Democrats campaign in Wisconsin and Michigan as part of “Operation Swing State,” Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Erin Hooley

Cassidy, who herself grew up in an abusive home, discovered her passion for criminal justice reform while working as a policy officer in the Cook County District Attorney’s Office (the equivalent of a district attorney’s office) in the 1990s. There, she led a pilot program that provided resources to people experiencing domestic violence and at risk of escalation.

Women who have been abused are far more likely to be incarcerated than women who have not, according to research published by the National Online Resource Center on Violence Against Women. Melissa Dichter, an author of the study and a professor at Temple University, said the pipeline also disproportionately impacts women and girls of color because of racial biases in the justice system and economic disadvantages.

“Leaving an abusive partner takes resources and money,” she said.

Advocates say many incarcerated women acted in self-defense against an abuser or were coerced into committing the crimes they were accused of. For example, Madeleine Behr of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation says survivors of sex trafficking often face prostitution charges.

“Someone who has experienced tremendous trauma is going to play out that trauma,” said Robert Peters, Senate sponsor of the Illinois bill. “And it’s actually vital that we give grace.”

Illinois has been dealing with this issue since 2015, when it passed a law that allows judges to shorten prison sentences for victims of domestic violence if their past was not factored into the original sentence.

But the law has proven only marginally effective. Alexis Mansfield, a senior adviser at the Illinois-based advocacy group Women’s Justice Institute, said it’s not yet possible to track specific cases and that only a handful of women have been successful in their petitions for resentencing.

Cassidy, a Democrat, then sponsored a bill signed into law last year that broadened who qualifies for sentencing relief. It now includes survivors of human trafficking, stalking and sex crimes such as rape. Mansfield said the 2023 legislation broadens the scope of the law beyond just violence from an intimate partner or someone the person knows, as well as the type of abuse that can be considered.

“That expansion was really important for people who had experienced this kind of harm and couldn’t get help otherwise,” Mansfield said.

After the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the resentencing law did not apply to those who originally pleaded guilty, Cassidy and Democratic Sen. Robert Peters sponsored legislation to close the loophole for those survivors, the bill Pritzker signed into law on Aug. 9.

Mansfield knows of more than 60 petitions that have been denied, many in cases where the defendant was originally convicted on a plea deal. She hopes this year’s legislation will result in more success for women seeking new sentences.

“Representative Cassidy is an incredible ally for survivors of gender-based violence everywhere. She uses her own life experience to create a safer world — not just for survivors, but for everyone,” Mansfield said.

Peters described Cassidy as a mentor and legislator who cares about what it really means to “keep people safe.”

New York passed its own Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act in 2019. Since then, 66 people have been released after petitioning for reconsideration, according to the Survivors Justice Project.

A new law went into effect in Oklahoma on Thursday that allows survivors of domestic and gender-based violence to have their sentences reinstated and establishes a new sentencing system with a maximum sentence of 30 years. A legal advocacy group for prisoners, Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, said it is filing its first case under the law.

In Pennsylvania, Democratic Sen. Amanda Cappelletti sponsored similar legislation last year, but said the timing wasn’t right to advance the bill now that her party is in the minority.

Opponents of re-sentencing laws, such as Republican Senator Terri Bryant of Illinois, argue that crimes have still been committed and that the process of the justice system must be upheld.

“They had their day in court,” Bryant said of the incarceration survivors.

Cassidy is determined to keep pushing legislation in Illinois. She plans to bring back bills she sponsored this year to reform the Illinois Prison Review Board system — allowing survivors to file statements and allowing the board to post videos of its deliberations on its website.

The council came under fire earlier this year when it freed a convicted domestic abuser who then stabbed a pregnant woman and fatally stabbed her 11-year-old son in Chicago.

Cassidy’s bill — which has bipartisan support — would also require the board to notify people when their abuser is scheduled for a hearing and improve protocol so people are notified immediately when their abuser is released. The legislation didn’t get final approval this year before the state budget was finalized, but Cassidy hopes it will pass next session.

Her legislative to-do list also includes creating a fund for survivors to get to safety when that release alert comes in. Cassidy’s vision is to work with state agencies to create a grant that people can use for temporary housing, transportation and moving expenses.

“If we really approach this population with some intentionality and trauma-informed approaches, I think it would be a worthy investment,” Cassidy said.

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