Pro Bono Client Granted Parole

A Paul, Weiss pro bono client was granted parole after having served nearly 28 years in prison following her conviction for the felony murder of her husband. At the time of the murder, she suffered from severe PTSD, stemming from years of extreme physical, sexual and psychological abuse. When she learned from teenagers that her husband had abused them when they were young, she drove the teens to where her husband was staying in order to confront him about the abuse. One of the teens entered the house and shot and killed her husband. 

Our client remembers little of the events surrounding the murder and has always denied having been aware of any plan to harm her husband. At multiple prior parole interviews, her fragmented account of the crime was deemed not credible and indicative of a failure to take responsibility for her role in the crime.

Paul, Weiss’s work focused on assisting our client to identify aspects of the crime for which she could take responsibility; explaining, with the assistance of a clinical psychologist, how her fragmented memory of the events surrounding the murder were consistent with trauma symptoms; and developing materials to present to the parole board demonstrating her to be low-risk, remorseful and otherwise ready for release.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partner Elizabeth Sacksteder and associates Jeremy Benjamin and Elana Beale.