joining to us discuss that is elizabeth schneider, professor of law at brooklyn law school.rt in the field of federal civil litigation, gender and domestic violence, and nona willis avonowitz. and kim dadu, a survivor of domestic violence who sat in jail for 17 years after being found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree for killing her abusive boyfriend after years of abuse. she's now a member of new york's coalition of women prisoners. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> kim, i want to start with you. we started with marissa's story, and i think it's useful for people watching to really understand the -- the human faces behind this. can you tell me just a bit about your case and about your experiences. >> sure. i want to thank you, all, for the opportunity to be here. i want to first say that after 20 years, i can tell my story and someone will actually listen. i was in an abusive relationship for almost five years, and i ended up killing him in an act of self-defense during an abusive incident. it was the first time i had ever fought back, and i killed him. a