2 Women Who Killed Abusive Spouses Freed

DWIGHT, Ill. — Two women convicted of murdering their husbands after suffering years of abuse were freed Friday after their sentences were commuted by Gov. James R. Thompson, prison officials said.

Thompson commuted the sentences of Gladys Gonzalez, 35, and Leslie Brown, 35, both of Chicago, to time served and ordered their release from Dwight Correctional Center. Gonzalez served nine years in prison and Brown six.

Stephen Morrill, a lawyer for Gonzalez, said the governor’s action might have been the first time in the country that a woman convicted of murdering an abusive husband was granted clemency. Domestic violence authorities said the release of the two would focus attention on other women who have resorted to murder to escape an abusive marriage.