Wife Who Killed Husband Free After 17 Years

An abused woman who has served almost two decades in state prison for killing her husband was released from custody Friday by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge who ruled that the outcome of her 1985 trial would likely have been different if evidence of battered women’s syndrome had been allowed in her defense.

Marva Wallace, 44, a mother of two, is believed to be the first inmate released under a new California law that allows inmates to file habeas corpus petitions in cases in which evidence of battered women’s syndrome was not permitted at trial.

Two weeks ago, Gov. Gray Davis denied Wallace parole, reversing a recommendation of the state Board of Prison Terms.

Wallace, a high school graduate who had no previous criminal record, was set free at 4:30 p.m. after the state Department of Corrections received notice of the decision. Wallace, who could still face a new trial, is due back in court Monday.

Judge David S. Wesley overturned the murder conviction, saying Wallace had clearly been a battered woman and had been convicted at a time when very little was known about domestic violence.

“I am going to order a new trial in this case, and I am going to release the defendant on her own recognizance,” he said.

Wallace, who had served more than 17 years in prison, began crying when the judge announced his ruling.

Several family members and friends, seated in the otherwise largely empty Los Angeles courtroom, applauded and let out a cheer.

“My heart is about to burst,” Wallace’s mother, Deloris Wallace, said outside the courtroom afterward. “I am just so happy. I’ve been praying and praying for this day.”

Wallace’s 25-year-old son, Jessie Martin, said, “Finally, a mom. You know, a grandma will take care of you. But it ain’t like mom.”

Greeted by Family

Several hours later, wearing an olive green blazer and matching skirt with white high-heel shoes, Wallace was released from Wesley’s courtroom. Family members, a preacher and a friend greeted her tearfully.

Outside the courtroom, her sister, Ruby, 38, ran and hugged her. Wallace let out a scream of joy as she walked out of the courthouse and into the parking lot.

“Thank God,” Wallace said as she caught her breath to stop crying and held hands with her mother and sister. “I’m just happy to be with my family.”

Her mother said she had planned a party and prepared her daughter’s favorite meal: fried chicken, cornbread and cabbage.

The state law, enacted in January, applies to women convicted before 1992, when California courts began allowing expert testimony about battered women’s syndrome.

Attorneys critical of Davis’ record of opposing parole of virtually all murderers see the law as an alternate route to freeing women like Wallace.

Davis Saw Risk

In overruling the recommendation for Wallace’s parole, Davis said he had determined that her release “would create too great a risk of public safety.”

On Friday, Davis spokesman Byron Tucker said that the governor believes that battered women’s syndrome can be a legitimate defense, but that he had decided in the Wallace case that the trial court was in a better position than he was to make an evaluation.

Since becoming governor, Davis has paroled only two of 139 murderers whom the parole board has recommended for release.

“Women are not being released on parole,” said Wallace’s attorney, Michael Brennan. “The Legislature felt these women should have the opportunity to ask the court for relief. I’m very happy for Marva. She’s been in custody much too long for what happened in this case.”

“I’m speechless,” said Olivia Wang, director of the California Coalition for Battered Women in Prison. “It is so gratifying to see a judge recognize that battered woman syndrome was a factor in this case and do the right thing.”

Wang said she hoped the ruling would improve prospects for other battered women convicted of killing their abusers and seeking release. So far this year, Davis has blocked the parole of eight such women in addition to Wallace; decisions on three more cases are pending.

Behavioral Condition

Medical experts define battered women’s syndrome as a behavioral condition that affects those who are systematically abused. The pattern of violence leaves women feeling powerless, so they tend to stay in abusive relationships and may ultimately see suicide or homicide as the only way out.

Marva Wallace’s marriage lasted a year. Within two months, her husband, Glendell Boykin, started beating her, often leaving her bruised and bloodied, according to court papers.

Boykin would not let her work, refused to give her money to support her children and kept her isolated from her family. Boykin used crack cocaine regularly and had abused his first wife, court papers stated.

Wallace moved back to her mother’s house in Los Angeles once, but returned to her husband in Long Beach when he promised not to beat her again. But she said the abuse didn’t stop.

On April 21, 1984, Wallace asked Boykin if she could take her 2-year-old daughter to the girl’s grandmother’s house. Boykin became angry, slapped her and made her perform oral sex while her daughter watched, court papers stated.

Shortly afterward, Wallace went into her daughter’s bedroom, got a gun and shot Boykin three times in the back of his head.

During her trial, Wallace and six friends and relatives testified to the abuse, but no expert told jurors about the effect of that abuse on Wallace’s mental state. She was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years to life in state prison.

The Board of Prison Terms reviewed Wallace’s case in 2001, consulted an expert on battered women’s syndrome and determined that she had been a victim of domestic violence. The board urged the Los Angeles trial court to consider reducing her sentence if it determined that the trial results would have been different if evidence about the abuse had been admitted into evidence.

Then the new law went into effect and attorneys for Wallace filed a writ of habeas corpus, asking that the conviction be overturned or that the sentence be reduced.

Judge Wesley called a hearing that began Oct. 10 and finished Friday in his downtown Los Angeles courtroom. During the hearing, Wallace took the witness stand and detailed the abuse by her husband, describing how he had punched her, slapped her and kicked her.

The assaults occurred after events such as a visit by a niece and a trip to take her sister to register for college. Wallace testified that she had been terrified of Boykin and had felt that there was no way to escape.

‘I Was Afraid’

“He told me if I ever tried to leave him again, he would kill me.... I was afraid that he will harm me or harm my daughter,” she said.

After she shot him, Wallace testified, she felt scared, ashamed and degraded. She admitted that she initially lied to police and failed to tell them about the forced oral sex. She also acknowledged that she had tried to hide the murder from her family.

Two of Wallace’s family members also testified during the hearing about seeing bruises, black eyes and “busted lips” on Wallace. Her sister, Ruby Wallace, said, “She wanted to leave, but she was scared to leave.” Her mother, Deloris Wallace, said she had called the police once, but that Marva had begged her not to tell them about the abuse.

Nancy Kaser-Boyd, an expert in battered women’s syndrome, said Boykin had been a classic batterer because of his jealous and controlling behavior, and that Wallace had clearly suffered from battered women’s syndrome at the time of the killing. She testified that battered women often keep their abuse hidden and don’t seek help from police or doctors.

“She was extremely distressed and fearful and clinically depressed,” said Kaser-Boyd, a psychologist.

Testimony ‘Crucial’

Wallace’s attorney argued that his client had been convicted of first-degree murder because of the lack of evidence of battered women’s syndrome. That testimony would have helped jurors understand why Wallace had never called police about the abuse or had gone to a hospital for treatment and why she had never left, Brennan said. It would have also supported the credibility of Wallace.

“All of that testimony was crucial to her defense,” he said. “Had it been presented, it would have resulted in a different outcome.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Hyman Sisman countered that he did not believe an expert’s testimony would have been likely to change the verdict. Wallace bought a gun a month before the murder and tried to cover up the killing afterward, which prosecutors say showed that the killing “was not a killing in the heat of passion, but a premeditated act of murder,” Sisman wrote in court papers.

After hearing arguments Friday, Wesley ruled that the outcome of the trial probably would have been different had testimony on battered women’s syndrome been allowed. He said Wallace is not a danger to the community or a flight risk, and that she would not have to be behind bars while she waited for a new trial.

Sisman said Friday that the district attorney’s office had not decided whether to try the case again, but Brennan said he expected the two sides to settle the case without a new trial. The possibility of a new trial will be discussed at the hearing Monday.

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Times staff writers Erika Hayasaki and Jennifer Warren contributed to this report.