“A wall is just a wall and nothing more at all. It can be broken down.” – Assata Shakur
Join the Incarcerated Womxn’s Clemency Support Project (IWCSP) in collaboration with Survived & Punished NY on Sunday, October 22nd at 5 PM EST for a letter writing and teach event focused on the campaign for clemency for Shirtorya Christian!
Shirtorya is a 40-year-old Black woman, organizer, and survivor of domestic abuse who is currently incarcerated in VA. She entered an abusive relationship at the age of 17, and the physical abuse sustained throughout the course of this relationship resulted in severe depression and an abuse-induced miscarriage.
On July 11th, 2002, Shirtorya was beaten by an abusive partner, then locked in her apartment. She managed to escape the apartment on July 12th while recovering from the extensive injuries she had received a day prior. Early on July 13th, she returned to find her abuser sleeping with another woman. Shirtorya then used one of her abusive partner’s guns to kill both him and the woman he was with. This action was the result of years of physical abuse and in self-defense given the constant and endless abuse she had experienced leading up to this moment.
The next year, on April 24th, 2003, Shirtorya was convicted of two counts of second degree murder, two counts of using a firearm, and ultimately sentenced to a total of thirty-eight years in prison with none suspended. Shirtorya has been incarcerated since this incident, with her years of abuse compounded by decades of incarceration.
This is a textbook example of the criminalization of victims of intimate partner violence by the state when they act in self-defense and against horrific interpersonal violence. The U.S. takes a carceral approach to sexual violence, and this has only gotten worse in recent decades where the incarceration rate for women is growing much more than that of men. Across the country, “mandatory arrest” and “dual arrest” policies reflect an overall political climate of being “tough on crime” that only facilitates the incarceration of survivors of all genders.
Show up on October 22nd to learn more about how to get involved in Shirtorya’s campaign for clemency, the impact of criminalization on survivors of gendered and state violence, and take part in letter writing in solidarity with Shirtorya. Register here: bit.ly/octoberclemency
