Cravath’s Incarcerated Survivors Initiative Secures Release of Survivor of Domestic Abuse
June 14, 2023
On March 29, 2023, the New York County Criminal Court granted Cravath’s motion to resentence pro bono client Tania Rodas under the Domestic Violence Survivors Act (“DVSJA”), securing her release. Ms. Rodas had been incarcerated since May 2017. She was originally sentenced in July 2019, pursuant to a plea agreement, to a 10‑year determinate sentence plus five years’ post‑release supervision, for first-degree manslaughter after killing her domestic partner, who had subjected her to a severe pattern of domestic abuse for over 11 years.
The DVSJA is a recent New York statute that allows courts to resentence domestic violence survivors who can show that they were a victim of domestic violence at the time of their crime, that domestic violence was a significant contributing factor to their crime and that the sentence imposed for that crime was unduly harsh.
Ms. Rodas immigrated to the United States as a young child. Beginning in childhood, she was victimized at the hands of a series of men and ultimately her deceased partner. Ms. Rodas suffered this frequent abuse until she fought back and killed her partner during their last fight. Ms. Rodas immediately called her family and then the police to report the incident. She confessed to the police and the assistant district attorney and ultimately pled guilty to first‑degree manslaughter.
Cravath partnered with the Legal Aid Society to develop the facts and evidentiary support for her resentencing application, which was submitted to the Manhattan DA’s office as a first option before filing a contested motion in court. After an extensive review of Ms. Rodas’s application, the DA’s Office consented to the Firm’s motion to resentence Ms. Rodas to a new sentence of five years’ incarceration and five years’ post‑release supervision. Ms. Rodas was resentenced on March 29, 2023 and released on April 11, 2023.
Cravath represented Ms. Rodas as part of the Firm’s Incarcerated Survivors Initiative, a program devoted to assisting incarcerated survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse in resentencing proceedings, parole hearings and civil rights. Ms. Rodas is now the third client of the Incarcerated Survivors Initiative helped to obtain release from prison.
The Cravath team included retired partner and Special Pro Bono Counsel David M. Stuart and associates Micaela J. Piña and Chizoba D. Ukairo. Cravath was joined in the representation by David Crow of the Legal Aid Society.
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J.D., 1995, New York University School of Law
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B.A., 1990, Wesleyan UniversityPhi Beta Kappa, High Honors
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