Rudeara Bailey
I was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life-in-prison based on the acts of my ex-partner. I was a 33 year-old mother of two at the time.
In December of 1987, I left my ex-partner alone in my apartment under the assumption he was going to make a drug deal. I had no idea that he had planned to lure, rob and murder the victim—a female insurance agent— and hide the body in my apartment. Later, my ex-partner asked me if I thought he was capable of killing someone. I said yes, because he had been abusive towards me in the past. He then began to tell me everything that he had done and said if I went to the police, he would kill my children and my mother, and tell the police that I had helped him. At this point, he made me get out of bed and begin to clean.
From that point, my ex-partner did not let me out of his sight. When the police came to my apartment to question us, my ex-partner sat beside me and when the detectives asked if they could search my apartment, my ex-partner was walking with us. Even after they left, my ex-partner stayed with me to make sure I never left the apartment to be able to tell anyone what happened. The next day, the same detectives came to my apartment to let me know that my ex- partner had been arrested and charged with the murder. Although he claimed I had helped him, I explained to the police that I did not. I even took a polygraph test, which showed no deception. The detectives later said they had no plans to arrest or charge me because they knew I was afraid and genuinely upset about the crime.
Nevertheless, at the urging of the prosecutor, I was arrested and charged with first-degree felony murder, potentially facing the death penalty. During the trial, the prosecutor and I had a verbal exchange after he refused to believe me and the witnesses who spoke on my behalf. He felt that if I were bold enough to stand up to him, there was no way I could have been afraid of my ex-partner. A jury of my peers agreed with the prosecutor. I was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. My ex-partner admitted during his sentencing proceeding that he alone had planned and committed the crime, but that didn’t change anything.
This felony murder law has caused so many women to be unfairly convicted and given life sentences. Many women who have been convicted of felony murder are also women who have been mentally, physically and sexually abused and spiritually broken by men. The person who commits the crime uses threats against their partner or ex-partner (a victim/survivor herself) who fears them. I want judges and policymakers to understand how the trauma of violence and abuse may affect a survivor’s interactions with–or inability to leave–their abusive partner or ex-partner. Felony murder laws punish survivors without taking any of this information into account.