Woman who killed her alleged attacker granted new sentencing hearing following Illinois legislation

Marseilles Redmond is seeking early release in a case that his lawyer and domestic violence advocates say is emblematic of a criminal justice system that has historically failed to consider the complexity of abuse when issuing sentences. severe penalties.

Redmond, 44, has for years sought relief from his sentence under an Illinois law that allows survivors of domestic violence to ask a judge for a sentence reduction. But his quest to be released from prison faced a new obstacle before the Illinois Supreme Court in November when it ruled in another case that the law did not apply to defendants like Redmond who had pleaded guilty instead of having been found guilty by a judge or jury.

Now the door has opened again for Redmond. In May, the Illinois Legislature changed the law to clarify that domestic violence survivors who have pleaded guilty can seek resentencing. And although the change doesn't take effect until next year, Cook County prosecutors withdrew their objection to a new sentencing hearing for Redmond.

Alexis Mansfield, senior counsel for the Women's Justice Institute who fought for the amendment following the court's ruling, said the legislation opens the way for more survivors to seek relief under the law.

“It’s time for their voices to be heard,” she said.

During an appearance Friday morning in Skokie court, Judge Paul Pavlus ordered a new sentencing hearing as family members cried, then hugged each other outside the courtroom.

“I will grant the request at that time,” he told the court.

For Redmond's family, who have long fought to bring her home, the decision offers a glimmer of hope, but underscores that there is still work to be done. They expect prosecutors to challenge an early release, with both sides calling witnesses at the sentencing hearing.

“I am always positive,” said Marseille’s mother, Vadal Redmond, moved after the hearing. “It looks better.”

Marseilles Redmond's case dates back to July 2001, when she fatally shot her baby's father at an Evanston gas station. Redmond argued that she killed Narsell Love in a moment of fear after suffering abuse, which resulted in him hitting her car over and over again against the back of her bumper while her child year old was attached to the back.

Cook County prosecutors, however, presented a different version. Assistant State's Attorney Paul Hooper argued that Redmond saw Love with a “new flame” and shot her several times, alleging she approached him, pointed the gun at his head and “executed” him.

The conflicting interpretations of the fatal shooting will likely be aired during the sentencing hearing, which does not yet have a date. The parties will meet again in July for a status hearing.

The tragedy at the heart of this case is one that Vadal Redmond and her daughter feel deeply, she said.

“I couldn’t imagine losing a child, especially losing a child to violence,” Vadal Redmond said. “I try to understand both sides.”

But ultimately, she stressed that even if her daughter was denied early release, she would eventually be released.

“I want my daughter to come home,” she said. “I miss her.”

After Love was killed and Redmond went to prison, their young child went to live with Vadal Redmond. Now an adult, Shea Redmond, 23, attended court hearings with her grandmother.

The tragic case was particularly emotionally complicated for him, he said, after losing his father to his mother and later learning of the abuse allegations.

He said he managed to form a relationship with his mother while he was incarcerated and kept all the letters she wrote to him. She started writing to him before he could even read, the first letters written in large capital letters more understandable to a child. As he grew older, the letters that came in were longer and more intimate, he said.

Shea Redmond collected them for her mother's attorney to use during her sentencing hearing, hoping they would provide a window into her mother as a person.

“I cherish them,” he said.