Pro Bono Client Receives Clemency — Just in Time for the Holidays

An all-women team from Latham has succeeded in achieving clemency in New York for Jacqueline Smalls — a momentous step in New York governor Kathy Hochul’s public commitment to helping domestic violence survivors and granting clemencies on a rolling basis.

On December 21, 2022, Governor Hochul announced that Jacqueline — a 60-year-old survivor of domestic abuse incarcerated for killing her abuser — would be released from prison, where she has served 10 years of a 15-year sentence. This is an incredible victory for Jacqueline and her family during the holiday season.

Jacqueline endured years of severe abuse at the hands of her boyfriend, who was arrested on multiple occasions for violently attacking her. On August 26, 2012, sensing the escalation and fearing the violence she knew was coming, Jacqueline stabbed her abuser once, killing him. She had two orders of protection in effect against him at the time.

With guidance from partner Jamie Wine, associates Brittany Ehardt, Jaclyn Newman, Melange Gavin, and Wendy Gu played major roles in the case, including preparing and making presentations to the offices of Governor Hochul and the Schenectady County District Attorney. The team was also instrumental in interacting with Jacqueline throughout the process to build and present her clemency case. Partner Nick McQuaid and associate Adam Shamah also assisted on the matter prior to the clemency strategy.

Achieving this result for Jacqueline required significant strategic direction from the Latham team. Although Jacqueline is eligible for resentencing under the recently enacted and pioneering Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, resentencing efforts for domestic abuse survivors like Jacqueline (the intended beneficiaries of the Act) have been met with resistance by various governmental bodies and, as a result, would have required Jacqueline (in this instance) to undergo a traumatizing re-hearing. Latham therefore pivoted to pursuing clemency for Jacqueline. As a result of Latham’s persuasive efforts, the Governor’s office was fully supportive of this strategy.

The Latham team was assisted throughout by our pro bono partner organization, Sanctuary for Families, and coordinated with a team at Davis Polk and Wardell LLP, led by counsel Dara Sheinfeld.