From Protection to Punishment: Post-Conviction Barriers to Justice for Domestic Violence Survivor-Defendants in New York State

47 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2011

See all articles by Tamar Kraft-Stolar

Tamar Kraft-Stolar

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Elizabeth Brundige

Cornell University - Law School

Sital Kalantry

Seattle University Law School

Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum

Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Date Written: June 7, 2011

Abstract

Over the past 30 years, domestic violence has been increasingly recognized as a national epidemic. Although significant reforms are still needed, New York, along with many other states, has made important advances in the fight against domestic abuse. These advances, however, have stopped short of reforming the way the criminal justice system responds to survivors who engage in illegal acts to protect themselves from an abuser. Too often, the system responds to such women solely as perpetrators – not survivors – of violence, sending them to prison for long periods of time with little chance for early release. In the cruelest of ironies, these punishments are inflicted on survivors by the very system that should have helped protect them in the first place. As efforts to eliminate domestic violence move forward, it is critical that the experiences of survivor-defendants are heard and respected, and that the challenges they face are not overlooked. This report analyzes those challenges and presents concrete suggestions for reform.

Keywords: domestic violence, survivors, reforms, abuse, criminal justice system

Suggested Citation

Kraft-Stolar, Tamar and Brundige, Elizabeth and Kalantry, Sital and Getgen Kestenbaum, Jocelyn, From Protection to Punishment: Post-Conviction Barriers to Justice for Domestic Violence Survivor-Defendants in New York State (June 7, 2011). Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 11-21, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1861305 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1861305

Tamar Kraft-Stolar

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Elizabeth Brundige

Cornell University - Law School ( email )

Myron Taylor Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-4901
United States
(607) 254-4768 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/faculty/bio_elizabeth_brundige.cfm

Sital Kalantry (Contact Author)

Seattle University Law School ( email )

901 12th Avenue, Sullivan Hall
P.O. Box 222000
Seattle, WA n/a 98122-1090
United States

Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum

Yeshiva University - Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law ( email )

55 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10003
United States
212-790-0860 (Phone)

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