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she was "non-functioning," "psychologically
diseased," and a "zombie." Di
Luzio "didn't seem to like his client, his
heart wasn't in it," notes Wyse. "Di
Luzio actually declined the judge's
offer of a mistrial," reports David Satz,
a feminist activist who also attended
the trial. "He said there was no money
for it!"
On March 21, 1988 Jayne Stamen
was convicted and sentenced to eight
to 25 years in jail. She has been in jail
ever since. In a sense, Jayne has been a
prisoner-of-war for 16 years; that's if
you include her nine-year marriage,
and I do.
WHITE MIDDLE-CLASS
FRIENDS
Sheila Ryan DeLuca eventually found
competent attorneys and a fair-minded
judge. She was a non-battered, lawabiding,
educated, middle-class woman
with a profession. She had friends who
were similarly situated and therefore
tended to remain alive and out of jail.
Sheila's friends also had certain crucial
middle class "skills"—they were automatically
"likable,'' credible, and they
knew how to "network."
The loyalty of one such friend was
crucial in keeping Sheila's spirits up.
Carol Bozek was a childhood friend
who "never gave up" on Sheila. For 10
long years, Bozek, and Toni Iovino,
another loyal friend (who kept a room
empty for Sheila and called it "Sheila's
room") kept writing, calling, visiting,
and sending packages. This helped
Sheila always to remember who she
was. Bozek also kept prodding others
to visit and write, and apprising them
of Sheila's current legal and psychological
status.
Unlike Sheila, Jayne Stamen had few
middle-class skills, and no middle-class
friends or resources. Jayne was "just" a
wife, and because she'd been battered
for so long, she was fiercely isolated.
GOOD NETWORKING IN JAIL
Another factor in Sheila s favor was her
ability to recover her mental health and
to maintain an "acceptable" character
in prison. She did not become hard,
"crazy," or angry. She expressed
remorse for having been forced to take
a human life. She was a model prisoner,
she knew she needed her guards,
clergy, and the warden, as character
witnesses in court proceedings and at
parole hearings. She impressed these
witnesses (and her own lawyers, too) as
an easygoing, hardworking, repentant,
docile, "likable," uncomplaining,
unhardened, unembittered, non-political,
non-troublemaking woman.
DOING TIME
Despite all of the above, Sheila had to
spend more than 10 years in jail:
penance, perhaps, for having killed a
white man.
POLITICAL MOVEMENTS
Sheila has also benefited from the existence—and
the continued existence—
of the prisoners' rights/anti-deathpenalty
movement, and a continuing
feminist movement which has educated
judges, lawyers, juries, and the
media about the nature and prevalence
of violence against women and about
the rights of convicted prisoners. Constitutional
rights alone were not
enough to free Sheila; such rights are
not equally or automatically applied.
Such rights are, shamefully, for sale in
America. All things being equal, they
often go to the highest white, male
bidder.
Consider that in Jayne Stamen's case
Judge Harrington refused to hear from
any expert about battered woman's
syndrome; and he refused to consider
a justification (justified homicide)
defense. According to Miccio, Judge
Harrington said: "Because someone sits
around and decides, gee, he's been
threatening me for 10 years. One of
these days he's going to shoot me; that
does not automatically invoke a justification
defense, for the rest of their
lives... assuming that the victim was a
horrendous person, does not give anyone
a license to kill that person."
We need to rewrite the rules.
Although feminists and the media
rallied behind Jayne Stamen's campaign
for freedom, they've yet to succeed.
According to Satz, media coverage may
even have encouraged the judge to
sentence her harshly. Because of new
law-and-order legislation designed to
keep those who have committed violent
crimes in jail with no exceptions
for battered women who kill, Jayne
Stamen has not been allowed out on
work release or temporary work
release.
Sheila needed the eight separate keys
I've described—plus a good dollop of
luck—to "click" open her jail cell. In
case all of the above failed to work for a
permanent release, Sheila was prepared
to "go public," in the hope that media
visibility might then lead to executive
clemency, or to legislative reform.
On the eve of Ward's decision, a
woman whom Bozek had kept
apprised of Sheila's plight came forward.
The woman, Dr. Eleanor Pam,
had the motivation, the compassion,
the skills, and (through her husband)
the right legal and political connections
to organize a pro bono media
campaign for Sheila. Media visibility
can sometimes create a climate that
may lead to executive clemency
{although it never helped Jean Harris—who
was freed only when Governor
Cuomo thought she might die
while undergoing heart surgery). Pam
set to work, almost full time, a month
before Ward rendered his decision, calling
journalists, TV networks, politicians,
Hollywood producers, and feminist
activists—including myself and
Kate Millett.
Good Samaritans like Pam may do
something like this only once in a lifetime,
and then only for someone with
whom they have a personal connection.
But every woman wrongfully
imprisoned needs such a skillful and
well-connected volunteer in her
corner.
Pam's skills and connections might
have accomplished nothing had Sheila
herself not been willing to "go public."
Media is tricky for a prisoner. Too
much publicity can anger wardens,
judges, and district attorneys (we're
talking about a woman, not about OJ.
Simpson). Just the "right" amount of
media, in the right place, at the right
time, might persuade the state not to
reprosecute someone like Sheila, to let
her go on the basis of "time served."
Obtaining "justice for all" means that
we must do so not only for ourselves,
Send $1 for our color catalog of
woman-identified jewelry in
silver, amethyst, moonstone, & gold.
LIZZIE BROWN
P.O. Box 389V Brimfield, Ma 01010
(413) 245-9484
ON THE ISSUES WINTER 1995 57