Let's Talk Criminal Justice

There is often a direct path between the mistreatment of women to their employment of “criminal behavior.”

The first step in this process is facing childhood abuse, neglect, and other adverse childhood trauma. Occurrences like these often leave young girls with unmet needs for safety, housing, food, and human connection. To fill this void in their lives, girls will attempt to meet such needs. They may- but have not been limited to- run away from home, use drugs as a coping mechanism, move in with an older significant other, live on the street, engage in prostitution, or turn to shoplifting. This change in behavior then puts girls at an increased state of vulnerability and social dislocation, potentially leading to their sufferance of domestic violence.

The destructive cycle between domestic violence and increased vulnerability continues until there is a dramatic break in the cycle. Complications arise when this break in the cycle comes in the form of girls’ compulsion to commit a crime. Women may act out of self defense or defense of their child and critically harm their domestic abuser. They may also be coerced into participating in crimes committed or planned by their domestic abuser (often out of fear that, without compliance, they or their loved ones would be killed). In Illinois, if someone knew about a crime and was there during its occurrence but does not participate in any illegal behavior, they are guilty of whatever crime their co defendant is guilty of. This is called the accountability theory; people can be convicted of crimes which they do not actually commit. Lastly, if females are caught with their abuser commiting a crime, they may confess to the crime to law officials out of intimidation from their abuser. In the end, all of these scenarios lead to complications with the criminal justice system.

The problem which rests in the criminal justice system is that charging decisions are rarely nuanced enough to consider the role of the domestic abuser. Domestic abuse survivors are rarely believed as a result of their addiction, prior criminal history, or prior acts of self-defense. Women’s struggles are largely invalidated as a result of their forced lifestyle surrounding “criminal behavior.” Law officials often minimize the abuse women have undergone and solely focus on their crime which they may not have even committed themselves as proven through accountability theory.

There are 2,664 women in Illinois prisons who are survivors of domestic violence. Ninty eight percent of which have been physically abused, 349 are convicted are murder, and 45 are serving life sentences.

The cycle of victimization to incarceration is a common story, but these statistics should not remain as lifeless numbers on a page. These are people’s actual lives which have been deranged by the criminal justice system. Women deserve to have their complete stories understood by the court. The criminal justice system needs to stop overlooking the significant role of domestic abuse in people’s criminal records. And, to Illinois, I say, get rid of the accountability theory! There is no reason someone who has been forced to a crime scene should face the exact sentence as the actual criminal (see Patrick’s story below).

As a seventeen year old without a license to practice law, I am unable to do much on behalf of people who suffer from the criminal justice system. However, I can raise awareness about these cases and so can you. I encourage you to do extra research about politicians' stances on criminal justice before you elect them into office. I encourage you to pressure your local government to enact change through writing letters and calling into offices. I encourage you to educate yourself about unjust laws riddled throughout the government which continue to suppress at risk people.

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The period for writing letters on behalf of Tewkunzi and Patrick has passed, but you can still call into the governor's office.

Tewkunzi Green :

Patrick Johnson:

Sharonda Miller:

WRITE LETTERS!!!