A New York law gives domestic violence survivors a chance to leave prison early if they can show that they committed crimes largely because of the abuse they endured.
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022.A New York law is giving survivors of domestic violence a chance to get their prison sentences reduced if they can show they committed crimes largely because of the abuse they endured. Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah last week helped the first defendant in her area get a sentence reduced since the state enacted the law in 2019. She spoke to WNYC about the case.
MH: Jonitha Alston is the first person in Westchester to be resentenced under this law. You supported her motion. Tell us about her case. So we agreed to recommend a reduced sentence. It’s not no sentence. Her sentence was reduced from 12 years to five years. That's the maximum allowed under the DVSJA. So it's not a free pass, but it's something that really recognizes the circumstances of the abuse she suffered and the circumstances of what was happening at the time when she did commit this crime with her daughter.
It's not something that happens overnight. We take these very seriously, as I'm sure all DAs do. There's significant writing and submissions made to our office, and we do a lot of our own investigation and the expert. So it, that kind of stuff I think has just sort of made its way through the system and as word gets out, we probably will see more of them.
MH: You bring a personal history to your work as a prosecutor. Your parents were victims of crime. Tell us how that informs the way you approach these domestic violence cases.