Valerie Seeley: Interview by Victoria Law

Valerie Seeley is the ONLY survivor of domestic violence to be granted clemency by NY Governor Andrew Cuomo. In this interview by Victoria Law, Seeley discusses being criminalized for self defense, serving 17 years in prison, being granted clemency after her second application, and why she’s fighting for the freedom and improved conditions of women and girls still inside.

This interview was the keynote event at Free Them All: A Mass Commutations event organized by Survived and Punished NYC on April 14, 2018, co-hosted by the Barnard Center for Research on Women. For more information, visit the Survived and Punished website and the Free Them All campaign site.

The Barnard Center for Research on Women (BCRW) engages our communities through programming, projects, and publications that advance intersectional social justice feminist analyses and generate steps toward social transformation. BCRW is a center for research under the auspices of the AAUP Principles of Academic Freedom and, thus, nothing published on this website reflects the views of Barnard College as an institution.

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