Innocent Woman Free After 32 Years

Seventy-four-year-old Mary Virginia Jones was released from prison Monday after serving 32 years for a murder it turns out she was forced into at gunpoint by her abusive boyfriend. Jones had her plea changed to involuntary manslaughter due to the work of USC Law School’s Post-Conviction Justice Project, which argued to the court that her history as a battered victim was not taken into account when she was forced at gunpoint to help rob and kill a drug dealer. At the time of the crime, Jones had a long history of abuse, going back to her parents. As a child, she was raped by a stranger and gave birth to a child resulting from the pregnancy. Later, she lost a 4-year-old daughter when she was nearly decapitated by a drunk driver.