The Prison Letters Project: Considering Past Trauma
The New York Times Magazine, February 21, 2023: The Prison Letters Project: Considering Past Trauma
“Occasionally, Emily, her students and I will select a letter and dive more deeply into the facts of the case. We did this with our first entry on Tim Young, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in California (he claims innocence). Young now has representation on appeal. A couple of years ago, Bazelon began receiving letters from Ivié DeMolina, who was convicted for her part in the 1994 murders of one man in New York and another in New Jersey, though she says she did not directly participate in the actual killings. She was sentenced to 25 years to life in New York and has been in prison there for 28 years. If she receives parole in that state, she faces a consecutive sentence of 30 years to life in New Jersey.
“‘I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence,’ DeMolina, who is 56, wrote in one of her letters. ‘I am someone who was not wrongfully convicted, but wrongfully represented.’
“What drew me to DeMolina’s letters, beyond her frankness about her guilt, which was refreshing, was her vulnerability. ‘I was never an evil person,’ she wrote. ‘Please help me save the rest of my life.’”
Additional reading:
Harper’s Bazaar, June 28, 2021: I’m Serving Life in Prison. Learning Not to Judge Others Has Set Me Free
The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act passed in New York in 2019
