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Clemency for battered women in prison

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By Melissa Martin

Kill or be killed. “On the night he died, after a day of heavy drinking, Andrew Harris sexually and verbally assaulted Mia. When the abuse became physical, Mia told Andrew “No,” and told him to leave her home. Instead, he cut her.

When she tried to escape, he strangled her until she passed out. Before she passed out, she was able to grab a knife and stabbed him with it. When she awoke, Andrew continued beating her, and poured hot sauce in her eyes.

Mia swung the knife at Andrew to keep him away, causing 22 wounds over his body. One cut sliced Andrew’s femoral artery behind his knee causing him bleed to death.”

Thomia (Mia) Hunter was incarcerated in the Ohio Reformatory for Women for 15 years after she killed her abusive ex-boyfriend in self-defense.

A 2019 article by WPCO in Cincinnati pointed out, “The Ohio Parole Board had recommended the Cleveland woman’s sentence be commuted after it found the issue of her abusive ex-boyfriend never came up at her trial.”

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In January of 2019, Gov. John Kasich granted the clemency request of one OJPC client. Hunter was freed.

Approximately 4,500 battered women in the US are incarcerated for defending their lives or the lives of their children against batterers. Ninety-three percent of women who kill their intimate partner do so as a result of domestic violence.

In 1990, Ohio Gov. Richard Celeste granted clemency to 25 women who had been convicted of killing or assaulting husbands or companions due to domestic violence and Battered Woman Syndrome. “The battered woman syndrome (BWS) expands the concept of legal self-defense. This defense holds that a battered woman is virtually held hostage in a violent household by a man who isolates and terrorizes her, convincing her that if she leaves he will track her down and kill her,” according to a 1996 article on the National Criminal Justice Reference Service website. Lenore Walker is the psychologist who coined the term “Battered Woman Syndrome” in the 1970’s.

A 2017 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that domestic violence is a major source of death for women.

Of the total domestic violence homicides, about 75 percent of the victims were killed as they attempted to leave the relationship or after the relationship had ended.

The National Clearinghouse for the Defense of Battered Women (NCDBW) was founded in 1987 to work for justice for victims of battering charged with crimes where a history of abuse is relevant to their legal claim or defense.

October is recognized as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). In October 1987, the first national Domestic Violence Awareness Month was held. In conjunction, the same year the first national toll-free hotline was begun. In 1989, Congress passed the first DVAM commemorative legislation and it has been passed every year since.

Thomia (Mia) Hunter. What if she were your mother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, coworker, or a stranger? Would you give her clemency? I would.

Where does your country stand on clemency for women that choose to kill or be killed?

(Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She lives in the US.)

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]