Battered Woman Freed After Decades in Prison
- Share via
A woman convicted of participating in the 1983 murder of her husband was freed from prison after prosecutors agreed she would have been eligible for a battered wife defense if such laws had been on the books at the time.
Marie La Pinta left the Suffolk County jail beaming and gripping a bouquet of roses sent by her three grandchildren.
She declined to say anything to reporters except “thank you.”
Freedom for the 69-year-old was especially sweet for her two sons: Anthony -- who became a lawyer in part to win justice for his mother, and Lenny, a teacher who for years lobbied in vain for a pardon from Gov. George E. Pataki and operated MercyforMom.org, aimed at winning her freedom.
Both sons have said she endured years of abuse at the hands of their father.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
The latest effort is coming from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. They just announced a $3 million program in conjunction with some nonprofits groups to test and clean the soil at homes still standing in the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire.
California once bet big on offshore wind to help power its clean-energy future, but the Trump administration is now paying developers billions to walk away from their projects. As California’s remaining offshore-wind leases hang in the balance, the state is fighting back in court.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
