Black Woman, 74, Freed After 32 Years In Prison

Mary Virginia Jones served time for a murder committed by an abusive boyfriend

By Carla Murphy Mar 26, 2014

Mary Virginia Jones, 74, walked out of a Calif. prison late Monday evening after serving 32 years for a murder she did not commit. Her son Robert who has a felony was not allowed to visit her prison. As a result, according to the LA Times, Monday is the first day he’d seen his mother in 30 years. Jones’ story reads like those of so many incarcerated women. It includes a lifetime of physical and emotional abuse from parents and boyfriends, rape, and grief from the loss of a 4-year-old daughter.

Jones, who used a magnifying glass in court to help her see, was convicted in 1982 of first-degree murder, kidnapping to commit robbery and robbery. She always maintained that she did not willingly participate in the crime that led to a man’s murder. Jones’ boyfriend, the shooter, died in 1988 while on death row.

None of Jones’ initial and subsequent trials had taken into account her history as a battered victim, said attorney Heidi Rummel of USC Law School’s Post-Conviction Justice Project.