#SurvivedAndPunishedVarmennettu tili

5,200 people are sentenced to Life Without Parole (LWOP) in California. LWOP has been called "the other death penalty" because people only leave prison "in a pine box." 80% of people sentenced to this other death penalty are people of color. #DropLWOP

The majority of people with LWOP sentences in California women's prisons are: * survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, and/or trafficking * people with no prior convictions

Why is California sentencing survivors of gender violence to die in prison? 90% of people in California women’s prisons serving LWOP were sentenced as “aiders and abettors” and/or under the Felony Murder Rule.

This means they were NOT the main actor/perpetrator of the crime. They may have been forced to be present when their abuser committed a murder. In Arlene's case, she wasn't even present when a person killed her abuser. #SurvivedAndPunished

So, for example, in Arlene's case, prosecutors understood that she didn't kill her husband. But the "felony murder rule" and "aid and abet" laws allow prosecutors to label people who weren't involved as "murderers" & punish them accordingly. #DropLWOP #SurvivedandPunished

This means they were NOT the main actor/perpetrator of the crime. They may have been forced to be present when their abuser committed a murder. In Arlene's case, she wasn't even present when a person killed her abuser. #SurvivedAndPunished

But how? HOW? Because prosecutors rely on racist and sexist tropes to invent narratives about people being the "mastermind" of violent crimes even if they didn't do the violent crime. #DropLWOP #SurvivedAndPunished #FreeAllSurvivors #FreeArlene

DA Michelle Hennessy: “[W]omen, due to their disparate physical strength & speed compared to at least 50% of the population in most cases, are necessarily going to rely on cunning when they commit a murder... Just as men rely on guns, women may rely on stealth.” Riiiight.