[KJS]

I'm the spouse of a survivor. We have been married for 20+ years. She has recently become a victim of another sort - the judicial system.

Her actions were wrong and deserve some type of punishment, however, not one time during the sentencing phase did her attorney, the county attorney or the judge even acknowledge her emotional issues directly related to the childhood abuse and the root cause of her behavior ( a reason, not an excuse).

I'm wondering how many other people have had similar situations where survivors have been treated as just another common criminal without the slightest thought or concern of how they got where they are?

[Emms]

It's hard to say, esp as I don't know what she's done, but I guess it happens a lot. It should be taken into account what has happened to someone in the past before sentacing, many survivors suffer anger issues and addictions. Like you say, it's not making excuses, if you've done wrong you should be punished, but things like child abuse in someone's past should always be taken into account and therapy should go alongside any punishment.