Cravath’s Incarceration Initiative Secures Release of Victims of Domestic Abuse

In 2022, Cravath secured the release from prison of two pro bono clients, Thomas “Tommy” Burns and Donna Arroyo, who had each been incarcerated for more than 25 years after having survived years of extreme domestic violence. Cravath worked closely on its representation of Tommy Burns with Brooklyn Law School’s Criminal Defense and Advocacy Clinic and the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk, and on its representation of Donna Arroyo with Sanctuary for Families.

Thomas “Tommy” Burns

On July 20, 2022, the Second Department of New York State’s Appellate Division issued an opinion under New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (“DVSJA”) providing for Cravath’s pro bono client, Mr. Burns, to be released from prison after almost 26 years in prison. The DVSJA, which was enacted in 2019, allows courts to resentence domestic violence survivors who can show that domestic violence was a significant contributing factor to their crime and the sentence imposed for that crime was unduly harsh.

Mr. Burns, who is from Suffolk County, New York, grew up a victim of domestic violence. From a young age, he suffered brutal, physical abuse by his father, and he witnessed similar abuse against his mother. The violence continued into Mr. Burns’s teenage years. When Mr. Burns was 19 years old, his father started yet another abusive episode and beat Mr. Burns, as he had many times before. This time, however, Mr. Burns fought back, and during the altercation Mr. Burns killed his father and his father’s girlfriend, who had intervened in the fight. Mr. Burns immediately confessed to the police and ultimately pled guilty. He was sentenced to consecutive terms of three to six years for killing his father and 25 years to life for killing his father’s girlfriend. He spent the ensuing 25 years and eight months in prison.

Cravath learned about Mr. Burns’s case through Brooklyn Law School Professor Kate Mogulescu, who directs the Criminal Defense and Advocacy Clinic, and with whom Cravath has been partnering on DVSJA cases as part of the Firm’s Incarcerated Women’s Initiative. Cravath was retained on a pro bono basis to represent Mr. Burns in the appeal of the trial court’s denial of his DVSJA application with respect to the homicide of his father’s girlfriend. The appeal was fully briefed by early May 2022, and the Appellate Division’s Second Department heard oral argument on June 21, 2022. On July 20, 2022, the Court handed down its unanimous decision and order, reversing the trial court and remanding for resentencing. The next day, Mr. Burns was resentenced by the trial court on an expedited basis and released that afternoon.

The Cravath team was led by partner David M. Stuart and included associates Andrew Wiktor and Matthew Nussbaum. Cravath was joined in the representation by Kate Mogulescu, Associate Professor of Clinical Law at Brooklyn Law School and director of its Criminal Defense and Advocacy Clinic, and Elizabeth Isaacs, Clinical Teaching Fellow at Brooklyn Law School, as well as Felice Milani of the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County.

Donna Arroyo

On February 14, the New York State Board of Parole granted parole to Cravath pro bono client Donna Arroyo, allowing her release from prison after 25 years of incarceration.

On January 11, 2022, Cravath submitted a parole application package to the Parole Board on behalf of Ms. Arroyo, a 62‑year‑old woman who became eligible for parole in 2022. Ms. Arroyo’s case was referred to Cravath’s Incarcerated Women’s Initiative by Sanctuary for Families, a pro bono partner of Cravath. For more than a year, the Cravath team worked with Ms. Arroyo to investigate her history and current circumstances in support of her parole application and prepare her for her hearing.

After enduring a childhood of extreme abuse, Ms. Arroyo had suffered extreme physical and psychological violence at the hands of her husband. In 1997 she pled guilty to the murder of her husband and was sentenced to an indeterminate 25‑year sentence. Ms. Arroyo did not qualify for resentencing under the DVSJA because she was convicted of an excluded offense under the statute—first‑degree murder.

As pro bono counsel, Cravath prepared Ms. Arroyo’s parole application, consisting of a lengthy “brief” and supporting documentation. This process involved interviewing family members and prison volunteers and employees to obtain letters of support, collecting prison records regarding programmatic and disciplinary history, medical records and risk assessments, preparing for the parole hearing and hiring an expert to conduct a forensic psychological evaluation. Because of limited data regarding recidivism rates for women, it was crucial to consult a forensic psychologist to independently evaluate Ms. Arroyo’s risk of future violence. This evaluation corroborated Cravath’s arguments that Ms. Arroyo posed a low risk of future violence.

On February 14, 2022, the New York State Board of Parole granted Ms. Arroyo parole and she was released from prison on May 12, 2022.

The Cravath team was led by David M. Stuart and included senior attorney Annmarie M. Terraciano and associates L. Angel Valle and Safeena L. Mecklai. Cravath was joined in the representation by Isabelle Demenge of Sanctuary for Families.