In 2021, Cravath’s Pro Bono Committee recognized a need to support the population of incarcerated survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, whose stories often go untold and whose individual circumstances are not always taken into consideration during sentencing. 

In response to those gaps, David Stuart (a now-retired litigation partner) and a group of Cravath associates spearheaded the creation of a task force that became the Incarcerated Survivors Initiative. The ISI provides pro bono legal counsel to these individuals by advocating for them in resentencing proceedings, parole hearings and civil rights actions. 

Since its founding, ISI efforts at the Firm have grown to become an integral part of Cravath’s comprehensive pro bono program, which deploys the full resources of the Firm to make high-impact contributions to advance justice and improve clients’ lives. In 2023, Cravath lawyers devoted more than 35,000 hours to pro bono work, and 93 Cravath lawyers contributed nearly 16,000 hours to matters representing incarcerated individuals, including those in the ISI project. 

The ISI has evaluated cases in which domestic violence was a contributing factor in an individual’s crime and also researched the prevalence of rape and sexual abuse by guards in prisons. The initiative has so far facilitated the release of four abuse survivors from incarceration and secured six-figure settlements for two incarcerated clients who were violently assaulted by prison guards. 

A growing body of academic literature shows that survivors of domestic violence who defend themselves against their abusers and have no prior criminal history have recidivism rates close to zero. Cravath is proud to have successfully argued for the release of four survivors in the past two years:

• T.B. was released in 2022. He served more than 25 years for an incident in which, at 19 years old, he killed his father, who had severely abused him; at the same time, he also killed his father’s girlfriend. The Cravath team successfully argued for his release under New York State’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (passed in 2019), which permits currently incarcerated survivors of domestic abuse to apply for resentencing and early release in circumstances where the abuse was a significant contributing factor to the survivor’s crime and the sentenced imposed for that crime was unduly harsh.
• D.A. was paroled and released from prison in 2022. She served 25 years for the murder of her abusive husband, for which she had pled guilty. She received support from Cravath in preparing her parole application and navigating the process over the course of a year. 
• T.R. was released in 2023. She was serving a first-degree manslaughter sentence after killing the domestic partner who had severely abused her for more than 11 years. Cravath developed evidentiary support and filed a resentencing application under the DVSJA.
• A.M. was released in 2023. She had been incarcerated for more than 13 years, after she pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter and acknowledged coordinating a confrontation that led to her abusive partner killing her former trafficker. Cravath lawyers investigated the matter for two years before filing a resentencing application. When the district attorney would not consent to resentencing under the DVSJA, Cravath successfully negotiated a new sentence, which led to the client’s immediate release in December 2023.

Lawyers at the Firm achieved these important victories through collaborative efforts with partner organizations including the Legal Aid Society, Sanctuary for Families, and the Brooklyn Law School Criminal Defense and Advocacy Clinic. 

While working on ISI matters, Cravath teams delve into the legal and strategic issues of their clients’ cases while also learning about the logistical components of prison operations and fact development. These lawyers work with private investigators and mental health professionals, and also develop expertise in the emotional and psychological aspects of representing incarcerated survivors who have experienced prolonged abuse and exploitation. 

As with all pro bono matters at Cravath, the ISI teams receive the full backing of the Firm’s resources to advocate for their clients, with the teams sometimes spending years investigating and developing their cases. The ISI continues to build institutional knowledge of how best to represent these pro bono clients to ensure that they receive the consideration, humanity and advocacy they deserve.