For an overview of the legal issues with Fran’s trial, see the defense appeal after the Motion for a New Trial was denied.

Because Fran was not able to properly present her self-defense argument at trial due to withheld exculpatory evidence, she is now serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. Having exhausted her appeal opportunities, her best chance at freedom is now through commutation of sentence or parole. In order to be eligible for parole in the state of Nebraska, her life sentence must first be commuted to a finite number of years. It is an uphill battle, but Fran’s friends and family are determined to see her free. She is now over 70 years old with multiple health issues and has difficulty hearing well enough to even have phone calls with her loved ones. Her family will welcome her with open arms for her remaining years should she be released.

According to the National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women, since 1978, 104 women in 23 states have received clemency. Help us see to it that Fran is one of the next women to be granted release.

Maddie Barnes, part of RUST 08, created this print for a project with FedUp

As reported by the Michigan Women’s Justice and Clemency Project:

• Women charged with the death of a mate have the least extensive record of any people convicted.

• The average prison sentence for men who kill their intimate partners is 2 to 6 years. Women who kill their partners are sentenced, on average, to 15 years.

Martha Mahoney coined the term “separation assault” to focus attention on the empirical evidence of the harm that comes to women who try to leave abusive relationships. Recognition of the prevalence of separation assault supports the fact that a woman acting in self-defense is acting according to a rational perception of danger (rather than insanity).