Free Battered Women presented Our Voices Within: Out of the Shadows, on Saturday October 21st from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, at the Humanist Hall (390 27th St. between Telegraph & Broadway, - accessible entrance is on 28th St) in Oakland. Flyer/Volante This event celebrated the freedom of formerly incarcerated survivors of domestic violence, and honored those who remain imprisoned. Arts and crafts by incarcerated battered women were featured.

Seventeen battered women who have been released from California prisons attended the event. Many of them served life sentences and were released on parole under Governor Schwarzenegger; others were freed after challenging their convictions in court. California is unique in that it has a law that allows domestic violence survivors to petition for new trials if they did not have expert testimony on battering and its effects in their original trials. Read more

New America Media Interview with Cheryl Jones, a domestic violence survivor who was recently freed from prison | Free Battered Women | Humanist Hall