[Pnews] These Women Face Death by Incarceration, But They’re Organizing for Their Lives

[Prisoner News]

truthout.org
<https://truthout.org/articles/these-women-face-death-by-incarceration-but-theyre-organizing-for-their-lives/>
These Women Face Death by Incarceration, But They’re Organizing for Their
Lives
Victoria Law - April 21, 2023
------------------------------
[image: image.png]

When she was 20 years old, Sheená King was sentenced to life without
parole. Two years earlier, King’s boyfriend had coerced her into fatally
shooting another woman, threatening to kill her and her family if she
refused. She was convicted of murder, which, in Pennsylvania, mandates life
without parole.

It’s a sentence that King, now age 50, and other advocates call “death by
incarceration.”

“Freedom is ensured when my ashes are shipped to my daughter in a cardboard
box,” she explained in a newly released report on women and trans people
serving similar sentences.

The term “death by incarceration” encompasses those like King who have been
sentenced to life without parole. In recent years, it has also expanded to
include people who are serving life sentences that allow for parole as well
as virtual life sentences of 50 years or more. More than 203,000 people, or one
in every seven people in U.S. prisons
<https://www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/2022/08/No-End-in-Sight-Americas-Enduring-Reliance-on-Life-Imprisonment.pdf>,
are serving one of these types of sentences.

In Pennsylvania, 8,242 people (or 12 percent of the state’s prison
population) are serving one of these sentences. The state has the
second-highest amount of life without parole sentences — 5,375 people — in
the nation. (Florida, which has 10,438 people serving life without parole,
is first for that dubious distinction).

As of March 2023
<https://www.cor.pa.gov/About%20Us/Statistics/Documents/Monthly%20Population%20Reports/Mtpop2303.pdf>,
Pennsylvania’s two women’s prisons confined 1,871 women, trans and
gender-nonconforming people. Of those, 197 — or over 10 percent — are
serving life without parole sentences.

Given their relatively small percentage, the experiences of people
sentenced to death by incarceration are often overlooked and
under-reported. Now, a new report brings their stories — which often start
with violence from loved ones — to the forefront.

“From Victim to Victor <https://letsgetfree.info/from-victim-to-victor/>” draws
from surveys and follow-up interviews detailing the life histories, prison
experiences and policy recommendations of 73 women and trans people serving
similar sentences in Pennsylvania’s women’s prisons. The report is
researched and written by incarcerated people in partnership with outside
advocates from the Abolitionist Law Center
<https://abolitionistlawcenter.org/>, the Human Rights Coalition
<https://www.hrcoalition.org/> and Let’s Get Free: The Women and Trans
Prisoner Defense Committee <https://letsgetfree.info/>.

While its scope is limited to those in Pennsylvania’s women’s prisons, the
report reflects the reality of women and trans people serving lengthy or
lifelong sentences nationwide — and their efforts to challenge the system
that has doomed them to die behind bars.

“For decades I have felt like a discarded thing, locked away from society
thousands of miles from home and forgotten by all except a handful of
people who care deeply for me,” King, who wrote the report’s introduction,
told *Truthout *by e-message. “I participated in writing the report for the
women around me who feel as I feel but aren’t able to articulate or to give
voice to their emotions. It is incumbent upon me to speak for those who
cannot.”
*A Common Story Arc: A Lifetime of Patriarchal Violence*

Over 60 percent of the women and trans people surveyed for the report had
never been arrested before the arrest that led to their sentencing.
Strikingly, 75 percent had been abused as children. More often than not,
the violence happened at the hands of men that they knew — fathers,
mothers’ boyfriends, uncles, brothers or family friends.

The violence often continued into adulthood. More than 80 percent said that
they later became involved in abusive romantic relationships. Their
accounts point to a common story arc in women’s prisons: a lifetime of
patriarchal violence.

That story arc isn’t limited to Pennsylvania. Nationally, 86 percent of
those in women’s jails reported experiencing sexual violence
<https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/overlooked-women-and-jails-report-updated.pdf>
before arrest; 77 percent also reported partner violence.

One-third of those who responded to the survey were convicted for the death
of a romantic partner. In 85 percent of those cases, participants reported
that that partner had been abusive. In convictions for the death of someone
other than a romantic partner, such as King’s, male violence frequently
played a significant role.

That’s what happened to Jamie Silvonek. She was 14 years old when her
20-year-old boyfriend, whom she described as controlling and violent,
killed her mother, who had opposed their relationship. Silvonek was charged
with first-degree murder as an adult and sentenced to 35 years to life.

For the next four years, she was incarcerated in Muncy’s Youthful Offender
Unit, where children are held in isolation away from incarcerated adults.
But Silvonek was still in the presence of adult prison staff who regularly
abused her verbally and emotionally.

“They regularly forced me to stand in front of their office while they
verbally disparaged and humiliated me. They sometimes forced me to stand in
front of their office for hours at a time as they degraded and taunted me,”
she recounted for the report. When she attempted to report their abuse,
they retaliated by writing her numerous misconduct tickets. Those tickets
increased her isolation and fraught mental state, preventing her from
talking with her family and lessening the few opportunities to interact
with other young people in that unit.

Others also described how the violence they faced on the outside continued
past the prison gates. *“*I’ve been the topic and receiver of physical and
emotional abuse that traumatized me before prison, just to be thrown away
into another abuser’s arms called the Department of Corrections,” Kimberly
Joynes told *Truthout.*

Abuse perpetrated by prison staff is not uncommon. Between 2016 and 2018,
the latest years for which data is available, prisons and jails nationwide
reported 45,581 allegations of staff sexual harassment and abuse
<https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/svraca1618.pdf>. Fewer than 2,200
allegations were substantiated. A lack of substantiation does not mean that
an assault did not occur; it simply indicates that investigators report
that they did not find enough evidence to determine whether it occurred.

That’s what happened to Tracey Nadirah Shaw, who had been repeatedly raped
by a prison officer for four years
<https://truthout.org/articles/new-report-looks-at-strategies-to-cut-incarceration-of-illinois-women-by-half/>.
The officer had threatened her family if she reported his assaults, causing
her to remain quiet. The attacks stopped only after she was moved to a
different housing unit. Years later, she learned he was applying to become
manager of her housing unit. She reported his rapes to prison authorities,
her family and an outside monitoring agency. Prison investigators dismissed
her claims as not only unfounded but, because so much time had elapsed,
frivolous.
*Injustice in the “Justice” System*

By June 1, 2003, Sarita Miller’s use of crack cocaine, which had started as
a way to block out her father’s abuse, had become an “insatiable
desperateness.” One night, she went to her dealer*, *intending to get crack
from him. They drove to the home of another person, Rita Nagel, whom Miller
hoped would give them money.

“I knew that Ms. Nagel was friendly with some of the drug addicts,” Miller
explained. “She would show compassion and allow some of us to wash her car,
run errands, etc.” Miller planned to fabricate a sob story to get a few
dollars. Instead, she said, once Nagel opened her door, “My co-defendant
pushed his way in and began brutalizing her. I stood back frozen and
watched. I did nothing to help her. I couldn’t believe it!”

When her co-defendant threatened to do the same to her if she did not act, she
hit Nagel in the head with a hammer. Nagel died from their attack. Miller
was charged with first-degree murder and robbery.

At trial, Miller’s dealer took the stand and told a different story — that
Miller alone had killed Nagel, then later took him to the apartment to see
the dead body. He was offered immunity in exchange for his testimony. A
jailhouse informant, who later received probation for robbery and assault,
told a similar story — that Miller had boasted about the murder while in
jail.

In addition, prosecutors called Miller’s female lover, who testified that
Miller had allegedly confessed the murder. But they didn’t limit
questioning to the alleged confession. Instead, Miller recalled, “My
lesbian affair was brought up in front of the jury and my sexual
performance with my ex-partner [was also discussed.]” Miller was convicted
and sentenced to life without parole.

She wasn’t the only one whose sexuality was used to demonize her in front
of the jury. Michelle Hetzel, who was convicted after her husband killed
her ex-girlfriend, recalled, “My relationship with a girl was the biggest
talking point. At trial the rings we exchanged were passed around to the
jury. The rainbow sticker on my car was photographed and blown up for the
jury.”

Her request for a separate trial was denied. Her attorney never brought up
her husband’s abuse nor the fact that he had been her foster brother, that
he was seven years older than her, and that their relationship began when
she was a minor.

Hetzel and her husband were both convicted and sentenced to life without
parole.

Over half of the report’s participants were incarcerated for a crime
involving a white victim. This includes Miller, who is Black and Muslim,
and Hetzel, who is white. Studies have indicated that sentences are often
higher in cases involving deaths of white victims
<https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Gender-and-race-of-victim-by-homicide-sentence_tbl4_264974660>,
particularly white women
<https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/crimjust-criminology-facpubs/13/>
.

Pennsylvania is one of nine states that requires life without parole for
felony murder, or being present when a death occurs during another criminal
act. More than 20 percent of the report’s participants are imprisoned for
felony murder.
*Transformation — and Prison Obstacles *

Despite the prospect of dying in prison, many of these women have attempted
to transform their lives. While in county jail, Miller completed her high
school diploma and took college classes. Once in state prison, she enrolled
in classes and self-help groups, including violence prevention, substance
abuse programs, victim awareness, financial literacy classes and vocational
programs.

She began therapy to address past physical and sexual abuse from adult
relatives and to understand how that violence shaped her life and actions.
She also decided to ensure that incarcerated women had their own outlet for
their voices, collaborating with Let’s Get Free <https://letsgetfree.info/>,
a Pittsburgh-based group supporting imprisoned women and trans people, to
publish *Daughters* <https://creative-resistance.org/publications/>*, *a
biannual magazine specifically by and for incarcerated women.

King completed every program offered at SCI Muncy, including graduating
with an associate’s degree in religious education, a bachelor’s degree in
Christian counseling and completing 32 vocational programs. She also became
certified as a peer educator
<https://www.wlrppa.org/_files/ugd/161764_6daf26eb70c248a69de629af2aec685a.pdf>
to help others undergoing similar struggles.

Joynes, too, has completed every program offered at SCI Cambridge Springs,
the state’s other women’s prison. She is now taking correspondence courses
from Colorado State University toward two bachelors’ degrees — one in
sociology and another in psychology.

Silvonek is also enrolled in college. She is also learning to advocate not
only for herself but for others who were ensnared in the legal system as
juveniles. “At 22, I am far from the insecure, impulsive 13-year-old child
I once was. I am working hard to become a woman that my family and
community is proud of,” she wrote in an e-message to *Truthout. *

But their pathways to transformation aren’t easy in a prison environment.
Many, including King, described struggling with mental health with little
to no support from prison medical staff. Instead, staff frequently punish
them when they most need mental health support. Silvonek attempted suicide
several times; each time, she was stripped of her clothing, placed in
solitary confinement and denied reading materials and access to her family.

Participants also described being punished for minor rules violations, most
often for contraband, or items that they were not allowed to have. These
items were often not dangerous at all. King, for instance, was sent to
solitary for 30 days for having fruit salad. Other contraband for which
women have been punished include perfume, earrings, a lamp, ketchup and a
seasoning packet.
*Impacts of Incarceration*

Nationwide, the majority of people in prison are parents. Two-thirds of the
report’s participants have children. Nearly 60 percent of those parents
were arrested before their children were 5 years old. Not surprisingly,
their lengthy imprisonment has frayed their relationships. Several said
that they did not know much about their children’s lives, while others had
lost touch altogether.

King’s children were 3 years old and 4 months old when she was arrested.
She was fortunate that her mother and sisters cared for them, avoiding
foster care and permanent separation. Still, she said that her
incarceration devastated her family. “At ages 30 and 33, [my children]
still have enduring effects of my incarceration,” she wrote. Her son is
currently serving the same sentence as her — a life sentence without the
possibility of parole for first-degree murder.

Not only have family ties been frayed, but those sentenced to death by
incarceration fear aging and dying behind bars.

Joynes and King were 20 when they entered prison. King recently turned 50
and Joynes will be 62 this summer. Without clemency or legislative change,
they face decades — and death — in prison.

Nearly half of all Pennsylvanians serving life without parole are over age
50
<https://abolitionistlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ALC_AWayOut_27August_Full1.pdf>.
More than 21 percent are age 60 or older. While report participants ranged
from ages 20 to 80, the average age was 55 years old. They described
witnessing neglect of those who were aging and expressed fear that they,
too, might be treated horrifically as they lost the ability to care for
themselves.

“[Life without parole] means you will die in a dirty diaper, begging for
someone to come help you and be abused for losing your memory,” 57-year-old
Maria Spencer stated in the report.
*Causing a Tsunami and Creating Change*

For those serving life without parole, clemency, in the form of a sentence
commutation, is currently their only chance for release.

While some states allow their governors discretion to commute sentences
<https://law.justia.com/constitution/new-york/article-iv/section-4/>,
Pennsylvania requires unanimous approval from all five members of the Board
of Pardons and Parole. Even if the board grants unanimous approval, the
governor can still deny clemency. Between 1999 and 2022, only 57 lifers
received commutation
<https://www.bop.pa.gov/Statistics/Pages/Statistics-by-Year.aspx>; 45 were
granted by Tom Wolf between 2015 and 2022. In contrast, between 1970 and
1995, Pennsylvania governors commuted 285 life sentences
<https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=jclc_online>
.

As of 2020, 8,242 people in the state were serving a sentence characterized
as death by incarceration. The report highlights three bills that could
provide other avenues for that elusive second chance.

Senate Bill 135
<https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2021&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0135>
would provide parole eligibility for those serving a life-without-parole
sentence except for those convicted in the deaths of law enforcement.

SB 136
<https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billInfo/billInfo.cfm?sYear=2023&sInd=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0136>
would ensure that all incarcerated people are able to see the parole board
once they turn 55 years old, have served 25 years of their sentence, or
have been diagnosed with a chronic, terminal or debilitating illness. The
law is similar to one in California
<https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/bph/elderly-parole-hearings-overview/>, which
requires that people who reach age 50 and have served 20 years in prison be
eligible for a parole hearing.

SB 385 <https://legiscan.com/PA/bill/SB385/2023>, or Alternative Sentences
for Domestic Violence Survivors, would mandate the court consider an
individual’s history of partner abuse as a mitigating factor in the
sentencing process, allowing the court to impose a sentence below the
state’s sentencing guidelines. It also gives the judge the discretion to
not imprison the person at all. Survivors who are already incarcerated
would receive consideration for resentencing or release. New York passed a
similar bill in 2019
<https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/05/new-york-domestic-violence-sentencing/589507/>
.

Behind bars, Sheená King and Kimberly Joynes have been active in advocating
for all three. King urges those around her to encourage their families to
contact lawmakers, attend rallies and vote for candidates who support these
changes. In past years, she also wrote form letters for women whose
families lived in red districts.

Although she will have her first parole hearing when she is nearly 50,
Silvonek is also actively advocating for SB 135 to give others that chance.
She is also planning to advocate for children who, like herself, were tried
and punished as adults.

Meanwhile, all three hope that the report will bring both more
understanding to women’s imprisonment for crimes involving violence and
more support for bills that allow them (and everyone else) a second chance.

“I hope this report will cause a tsunami among the people,” Joynes told
*Truthout*. “I want the public servants and the politicians to stop serving
with their eyes closed knowing the needs of the uneducated and poor.”
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