SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE, BUT SHE DIDN’T DO THE CRIME

The Hustler Files with Lisa Reilly - Stories That Challenge What You Thought You Knew

Unfortunately, the cycle of domestic abuse can be handed down, from generation to generation, and it is an inheritance that can prove deadly. Such was the case for Kelly Savage-Rodriguez. Kelly grew up in an abusive family, and her mother was constantly, in the criminal justice system. Kelly herself was in a domestic violence situation when sadly she lost her 4 year old son, at the hands of her then-husband. While Kelly’s husband was sentenced to LWOP - Life Without Parole, Kelly herself was charged, at the time, with the California failure to protect law. Kelly served 23 years behind the wall and she also lost her baby daughter to her ex-husbands family. But Kelly wasn’t going to quit fighting for her release, and in November of 2018 had her LWOP sentence commuted by then-California Governor Brown. Through all of Kelly’s pain, she used her time in prison to not only improve herself but help others, including taking on a role with the California Coalition of Women Prisoners, as a Drop LWOP Coordinator. Kelly is still in that role today, but fortunately outside the wall.