Jane Doe
I was sixteen years old when I met my abusive ex-partner, who was twenty-one at the time. While working part-time after school as a cashier, I was sexually assaulted by the store owner. When I told my ex-boyfriend what happened, he wanted to get revenge by robbing the store. I was against this plan, but I did what I was told because I was scared of him. He made me tie up the store owner and another man, assuring me that he would not hurt them. He then ordered me to go to the front of the store, but I ran away. I later learned that my ex-boyfriend shot and killed the store owner and wounded the other man. I was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life-without-parole plus 15 years even though I never intended to harm anyone and was not in the room where the shots were fired.
Despite my life sentence, I continued to fight for freedom. At one point, I got so tired of trying to survive behind the prison walls that I wrote to the governor asking for lethal injection. Thankfully, the governor’s office responded that this was not an option. I recommitted to fighting for myself. After serving 15 years, I had my first parole hearing but was denied. Every five years I re-appeared before the parole board for a hearing. These hearings were traumatic experiences, as I had to sit in the same room as the victims’ family members and listen to the awful things they had to say about me, despite the fact that I was not responsible for the loss of their loved ones. I couldn't look at them nor could I speak to share with them what was in my heart.
Finally, after 42 years, a judge reduced my sentence as part of an initiative by the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Sentencing Review Unit to review cases of people over 60 or those incarcerated as juveniles who have served at least 25 years of their life sentence. At the time of my release, I was the longest-incarcerated woman in the state of Maryland.
I think felony murder laws are unjust, especially in situations like mine where you have co-defendants who committed the crime and a defendant who is merely an accessory to the crime. Grouping these defendants together to face the same punishment is unfair and exploitative. This law especially needs to be changed when considering minors—many of whom are forced into these situations because they are afraid and threatened by older selfish individuals. This law harms people and it will continue to harm people until we change it.
Today, I am a married homeowner with a job. I never thought I would experience a happily normal life, whatever that means. Without God, I would not have made it this far. I was in the final stages of wanting to give up, but God moved many mountains and made life possible and worth living. I am beyond grateful and thankful to experience some things before I leave this earth. My days are numbered because most of my life was spent in prison. One day, I will complete my book. It's a story that needs to be shared with so many other women to not give up, to keep fighting because God is listening.
