Cherelle Baldwin is a woman and former victim of domestic abuse by her boyfriend, Jeffrey Brow n. She almost served nearly 60 years in prison for defending herself against the violence enacted by Brown as she crashed her car and instantly killed the father of her child. ^[1] She was charged with murder and has been held behind bars on $1 million bail for almost three years. She maintained she was acting in self-defense. ^[1] On March 31, 2016, twelve jurors found Cherelle Baldwin not guilty of murder on Thursday in the death of her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Brown. ^[1]

Baldwin is charged with the 2013 killing of her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Brown, who Baldwin alleges had stalked and abused her.

According to court documents, Brown had repeatedly threatened Baldwin, took her credit cards and money, and assaulted her during visits to see their son, who lived with Baldwin.

Baldwin eventually attained a court order barring threats, harassment and assaults during visits, but just before Brown died, he sent Baldwin a series of threatening text messages.

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Then, according to a police affidavit based on Baldwin’s statements, Brown showed up at her house, climbed through her window and attacked her, choking her with his belt.

Baldwin escaped and managed to get inside her car, but so did Brown, who again choked her.

What happened next is hard for even Baldwin to remember, but when police arrived they found Baldwin on the ground with a broken leg and Brown dead in front of the car, pinned against the garage wall.

Baldwin was arrested on murder charges.

Baldwin has already spent nearly three years in jail.

If convicted, she could spend decades in prison.

We are joined by Charelle Baldwin’s mother, Cynthia Long.

We’re also joined by Victoria Law, a freelance journalist whose recent article for Rewire is "Facing Years in Prison for Fleeing Abuse: Cherelle Baldwin’s Story is Far from Unique."

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Almost 40 domestic violence organizations across the country called for state prosecutors to drop the charges against Baldwin, and a petition launched by the nonprofit Ultraviolet gathered nearly 32,000 signatures.

During closing arguments, the courtroom was packed with Connecticut-based domestic violence advocates who came to show their solidarity with Baldwin.

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