Woman Long Time Domestic Abuse Victim, Serving 12 Years for Killing Boyfriend, Has Sentenced Reduced. | WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR---65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

WPCNR LAW JOURNAL. From the Westchester County District Attorney. October 8, 2022:

The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office has, for the first time, consented to the resentencing of a domestic violence survivor under New York State’s 2019 Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA).

The DVSJA gives the court discretion to resentence defendants who suffered sexual, psychological or physical abuse that significantly contributed to their criminal conduct.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah recommended a five-year resentence, the maximum under the DVSJA, for Jonitha Alston, who has been serving a 12-year sentence for her manslaughter conviction for the 2016 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Dennis Graham.

Judge Robert Neary vacated the original sentence, of which Alston served nearly five years, and granted our recommendation of a five-year resentence, with five years of post-release supervision, in Westchester County Court on October 7, 2022.

“I want to thank the court for its thoughtful consideration. After a careful review of the motion filed by Ms. Alston under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, and a recent examination by an expert psychologist, we concluded that Ms. Alston was subject to physical and psychological abuse at the time of her offense, and the history of this abuse, combined with the perceived threat to her daughter at the time of the offense, significantly contributed to her commission of the crime,” DA Rocah said.

“The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act is an important evolution in the way the criminal justice system views survivors of abuse. The legislation is narrowly crafted and requires a strict set of eligibility requirements, which we took into consideration during our careful and thorough evaluation of this request.”

“This is a life-changing result for Ms. Alston and her family, friends and community. This case shows what can be accomplished when the DVSJA is coupled with a prosecutor’s office that views domestic violence survivors through a compassionate, holistic and trauma-informed lens,” said Ross Kramer, Director of the Incarcerated Gender Violence Survivors Initiative at Sanctuary for Families, one of New York’s largest service providers and advocates for survivors of gender-based violence that played a lead role in the passage of the DVSJA.

“Pace Women’s Justice Center is so pleased to see the Westchester County DA’s Office use the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act for the first time to reduce the sentence of an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence. It is fitting that this type of action was taken during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, giving voice to survivors. It speaks loudly of the Office’s understanding of the complexity of domestic violence prosecutions within the criminal justice system,” said Cindy Kanusher, Executive Director for Pace Womens Justice Center, which provides free legal services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse.