Gloria Killian, a California woman who was wrongfully convicted of robbery and murder, believes it was not only her destiny to spend 16 years in prison, but also her mission.
Now, more than two years after her release, Killian is continuing the work she began in prison by advocating for humane treatment of female prisoners. She also works for the release of wrongly convicted battered women who have been implicated in the deaths of their abusers.
More than 80 students crowded an ASU classroom Friday afternoon to hear Killian tell her story of being wrongfully convicted of committing robbery and murder in 1986.
"I really did believe it was my mission to be there," Killian said. "If I think anything else, all that leaves me with is the fact that they took my life and smashed it into a million pieces because they could."
In 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Killian's conviction, citing that it had been based on false testimony of a witness who had made a deal with the Sacramento district attorney's office, Killian said.
"I want people to know it can happen to anybody," she said. "They picked me and it can happen to anybody. Everybody needs to know that, because we have lost control of the system."
Since the 1980s, Killian has worked to change the laws in California and encourage California prisons to implement rehabilitation programs for exiting prisoners.
Killian said many prisoners lack adequate medical assistance, education and skills to be rehabilitated.
"We can't mistreat people because they're less fortunate," she said. "We've created that and we need to fix it. We cannot lock up the whole world."
ASU Ph.D. candidate Michael Coyle, who worked with the School of Justice Studies to bring Killian to ASU, said women prisoners are especially vulnerable because they represent only 5 percent of prisoners in the United States.
Coyle is president of the Arizona Coalition for Effective Government, a local group trying to improve conditions for women in Arizona prisons.
Coyle said prisons need more programming in order for released prisoners to become successful in society.
"Especially here in Arizona, the outlook is not a very bright one. So this work is more important than ever."
Justice studies junior Rebecca Brown said she thinks women in prison do face more hardships than other women, such as sexual abuse.
"I think it's definitely a problem and something that can definitely be improved on," she said.
Killian tried to rally the audience at ASU.
"We need to take the system back," she said. "People need to understand that women in prison are not only prisoners, they're human beings."
Reach the reporter at jacqueline.shoyeb@asu.edu.
