(SRN NEWS/AP) – Mary Favors is still plagued by nightmares from the days her husband beat her, choked her and verbally and sexually abused her. Now, she is in prison for killing him.
Their fights often turned physical, and five times he was convicted of abusing her. Then one night in April 2011, court records show, Troy Favors began shouting and hitting her before chasing her to their bedroom.
She quickly closed the door, alone inside, tying the bedroom door with a string because he had kicked it down before. She grabbed a knife in case he did that again just before he burst in. When she told him to back off, he refused and, according to Favors, he jumped on the knife. Prosecutors accused her of stabbing him.
“It happened so fast,” Favors, 58, told The Associated Press from prison, later adding, “I felt my life was at risk.”
Between 74% and 95% of incarcerated women have survived domestic abuse or sexual violence, according to the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Many were tried without fair opportunities to prove the scope of the abuse and how it led them to act in self-defense, while others were coerced into crimes, according to advocates, who add that certain laws disproportionately criminalize abused women.
At other times, they say, people simply don’t believe women’s stories, with women of color like Favors who survive abuse especially likely to end up in prison.
But under the Georgia Survivor Justice Act, which passed the state House overwhelmingly with bipartisan support and awaits Senate consideration, abuse survivors could secure early release from prison.
There’s much more on this story here: How a new Georgia bill could change the fate of domestic abuse survivors in prison – SRN News
