Louisiana Survivors for Reform — The Promise of Justice Initiative

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:

On April 9th, formerly incarcerated survivors, victim advocates, and their allies testified before the Administration of Criminal Justice Committee in support of the Justice for Survivors Act. Their testimony shed light on a legal system that often ignores the context of intimate partner violence in favor of criminalizing victim who took desperate actions as a direct result of abuse. Despite their courageous testimony and widespread support of the bill, the ACJ committee ultimately voted 7-6 against HB 631 and against justice.

While this does mean the Justice for Survivors Act’s legislative run is over for this year, our work goes on. We will keep push our lawmakers to vote to protect survivors instead of creating more harm. We will not stop fighting until survivors receive the care, healing, and support they deserve.

Justice for Survivors Act

The dynamics of human trafficking, intimate partner violence, and sexual abuse are not adequately accounted for in the Louisiana legal system. As a result of these misconceptions, survivors are criminalized for defending themselves against an abuser or being coerced to participate in a crime under extreme duress. It is estimated there are between 30 and 50 survivors currently serving life sentences in Louisiana for participating in actions as a direct result of abuse. That’s why we’re bringing House Bill 631 to the 2024 legislative session: To ensure survivors receive care, healing, and support, not lengthy prison sentences.

The Justice for Survivors Act addresses this gap in the legal system by allowing survivors to be sentenced under lower sentencing ranges if there is proof that the abuse, sexual assault, or trafficking was a significant factor in the survivor’s participation in the actions which resulted in their incarceration. It would only apply if the offense was committed against the abuser/trafficker, or if the abuser/trafficker forced the survivor to participate in the offense. HB 631 also provides a pathway to relief for survivors who are currently incarcerated, by creating a limited grace period to apply for re-sentencing.

The drafting of this legislation has been a multi-year, collaborative process with input from individuals and organizations representing a range of interests and experiences including the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, the Louisiana Supreme Court, domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy organizations, criminal justice reform advocates, legislators, Governor John Bel Edwards, public defenders, and survivors of violence. We are not made safer when victims of crime are criminalized. Addressing the incarceration of survivors is a pathway to healing and harm reduction in our communities, and will prevent survivors from having to choose between prison and death. To learn more about the Justice for Survivors Act or to join the coalition, email lsr@defendla.org or call/text 504-535-4912.

JOIN THE JUSTICE FOR SURVIVORS COALITION

JSA Fact Sheet

JSA in the News

Victoria Law for Bolts Magazine: New Bill Could Help Criminalized & Incarcerated Abuse Survivors in Louisiana

“When we say survivors are criminalized and incarcerated for killing their abusers, no one [among domestic violence advocates] disagrees with us because everyone knows at least one survivor incarcerated for killing their abuser.” - Mariah Wineski of Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence

“After suffering many years of all types of abuse and numerous phone calls to local authorities, I reacted in a manner I will regret all the days of my life… The Justice for Survivors Act will provide healing to souls which have suffered quietly from the epidemic of Domestic Violence. Additionally, JSA will correct a long standing social problem that has divided families and crowded prisons.” - Tamika Starks, a currently incarcerated survivor of domestic abuse

LA Illuminator: After 23 years in prison for killing her abuser, she hopes no one in Louisiana has to do that again

“If a domestic violence victim is the one that dies, she becomes the victim. But if she fights back and she is the one that survives, then they are going to prosecute her.” - Becki Kondkar, Tulane University Women’s Prison Project

“Over 40% [of domestic violence victims] are fighting back at some time. For some reason when it comes to domestic violence, we don’t see that as appropriate.” - Amanda Tonkovich, a social worker and state Crime Victims Reparations Board member

Justice for Survivors Act Receives Unanimous Endorsement from Human Trafficking Prevention Commission

In October 2022 the Human Trafficking Prevention Commission voted unanimously to endorse the Justice for Survivors Act as a 2023 legislative priority. The JSA builds upon Senator Mizell’s 2022 Michelle Johnson Act, which provides expungements for human trafficking survivors. To read more about the work of the Human Trafficking Prevention Commission and how the Justice for Survivors Act supports survivors of trafficking, check out their 2022 Annual Report (JSA recommendation on page 25).

Beasy Taylor, a domestic violence survivor who spent 23 years in prison for defending herself against an abuser, introduced Governor Edwards at the January Human Trafficking Prevention Commission meeting during Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Beasy thanked him for granting her clemency and highlighted the Justice for Survivors Act, saying “For my friends who will otherwise die while incarcerated, we need the Justice for Survivors Act. Survivors should not have to choose between prison or death. The ladies I left behind in LCIW deserve the same justice and freedom I was given. I am grateful for it every day.”

Survivor Informed Task Force Final Report and Recommendations

Submitted to the Louisiana Legislature February 2022

This report is drafted in recognition that people experience many types of violence which lead directly or indirectly to their incarceration. As required by its enabling legislation, this Task Force focused its research and discussion specifically on survivors of interpersonal violence and sexual violence who were subsequently punished, mainly for defending themselves against an abuser or after being coerced into a crime.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 45 (2021), authored by Senator Patrick McMath, passed unanimously in the 2021 Regular Louisiana Legislative Session. SCR 45 created the Survivor Informed Task Force (SITF) and directed it to study the link between trauma, abuse, and subsequent incarceration, including secondary survivors of domestic or intimate partner violence, and to make recommendations to the legislature. The Task Force was given six specific duties, outlined below under “Subject Areas of Focus.” This report contains recommendations for each subject area.