When did preservation become more important than doing the right thing? The Rodney King video….the OJ verdict…Hurricane Katrina. Many of us witnessed all of these events in history and the majority, if not all of us, were disgusted as we watched people do the wrong thing. Most injustices occur out of sight from those who may judge. In the case of Deborah Peagler, it took place behind closed doors and in front of the world…yet it took 27 years for anyone to step up and do the right thing.
“If the numbers we see in domestic violence were applied to terrorism or gang violence, the entire country would be up in arms, and it would be the lead story on the news every night.” – Rep. Mark Green
In 1975 Deborah was a 15 year old single mom trying to pull herself up in the world. Her mother noticed a nice guy, Oliver Wilson, at the market and introduced them. He was kind to her little girl and it seemed they were a great couple. One day he told her he had a surprise for her. As they drove he told her he was having money trouble and needed her help. She began to quietly think of jobs that she could get when he pulled up to a donut shop and left her with two women. These women explained to her the do’s and don’ts of prostitution. Deborah was in shock…Oliver was pimping her out. She told the women she wasn’t going to do it and they warned her that her pimp would beat her. She knew they were mistaken and Oliver would never hurt her. When he returned and asked how much money she made, she told him “I’m not going to do that”. Oliver simply relied okay like nothing was wrong. But when he took her to his mother’s house, he beat her badly. Fearing for her life, she swore she’d do it next time.
Her sophomore through senior year of high school, he forced her to have sex for money. Still she made honor roll…nobody knew. However, he controlled every aspect of her life. Later the fists were no longer enough and he began using a bullwhip. She tried to escape many times but he always forced her back with violence or threats. She then became pregnant with his child and he took out a small life insurance policy because of his daughter. However, he began dealing and using drugs and the violence got worse. In 1982 Deborah was given a reprieve after seven hard years of abuse. She and Oliver had been evicted and each went to stay with their own moms until they could get back on their feet. She knew she was never going back. One day he showed up with friends…armed with pistols and shotguns looking for Deborah. The police came out and arrested him but he was released the next day…angrier than ever.
Deborah knew the police weren’t going to help. Domestic violence, no matter how violent, wasn’t taken seriously by law enforcement back then. Those were the days that the police would walk in and tell husbands to leave his wife alone and sleep it off on the couch. There was no protection for women. Deborah’s mom suggested that Deborah let Ramone Sibly and Timmy Lively persuade Oliver to leave her alone. They were the lead Crip gang members in her mother’s neighborhood who were already irritated at Oliver for coming into their territory. Ramone shared that Oliver “thought he was above ghetto law, street law,” and he wasn’t happy at the lack of consequences. “But I didn’t want nobody to kill him but I wanted somebody to beat the hell out of him” Deborah’s mom said unapologetically. Deborah just wanted Oliver to leave her alone and Ramone and Timmy said they would take care of it. Deborah proceeded to meet with Oliver and then Ramone and Timmy jumped him. Deborah took off and they ended up killing Oliver…unbeknownst to Deborah. After his death, she received around $17,000 from the life insurance policy he had taken out, most of which went to his mother for his elaborate funeral. The life insurance policy is what created all the problems.
In 1983, she was prosecuted by a group known as “Operation Hardcore” which is a prosecution team funded by the Federal Government to suppress gangs. Because Crip gang members were involved, things got really bad for Deborah. This particular task force had a 100% conviction rate. She was being charged with first degree murder and they told her that unless she confessed, they were going to pursue and GET the death penalty. She was terrified. The case never went to trial and Deborah received a sentence of 25 years to life. At that time there weren’t a lot of battered women shelters. There were no real support groups and laws to protect them. Matter of fact many of the incarcerated women committed crimes that are directly related to domestic violence.
In 2002, the laws of California changed. The Habeas Law passed in California and was the first law in the nation to let domestic violence survivors present evidence on behalf of their previous case. Today, California is still the only state that is letting these cases be reopened. However they do not provide them with attorneys. Luckily the Habeas Project helps to link these women with attorneys who were willing to work pro-bono. This was how Deborah met Nadia Costa and Joshua Safran.
Joshua felt a strong personal connection with this case. He recalled an abusive relationship his mother had been in when he was 9. At that time he felt helpless, shameful and frightened for his and his mother’s life. Now empowered as a lawyer, he was finally in a place where he could. Nadia was still reluctant to share her own experiences but told us that she too had been abused as a child. That is what many people don’t understand. Domestic violence knows no social, educational or economic boundaries. It occurs in south central LA and in high-rises in Manhattan…and almost always under the cloak of silence and fear.
For decades, Deborah was an exemplary prisoner. She was a church leader for 15 years, the highest paid female worker in the prison, learned sign language and interpreted for deaf inmates…she was a true inspiration to others. Not only did she have the support of fellow inmates, but she also had the support of Oliver’s family. Oliver’s sister went in front of the parole board and poured her heart out for Deborah, yet she was still denied. She was always denied…no matter who was in her corner or how good she had been.
Another team member was Bobby, an investigator of about 25 years. Bobby was turning up new leads. It appeared there were allegations that Oliver molested Deborah’s first daughter. When the daughter was questioned, she began to cry and tell the horrible details. This clearly wasn’t a crime about life insurance policies …it was about a pattern of abuse. More information turned up that the original judge felt the only witness had “pretty poor” testimony and was “extremely ambiguous”. Not only was he a drug customer and friend of Oliver, he waited months to call the police. On 2004, Bobby paid the key eye-witness, Tony Reedburg, a visit in the hospital….he was battling cancer. “Deborah deserves to be free. She deserves for the truth to be known.” He knew the about the abuse she had endured at the hands of Oliver. Tony had once loved Deborah. After Oliver died, Deborah went back to her daughter’s father and Tony got jealous. “Ripped my heart apart so I ripped her heart apart”. He called the homicide department and told them everything he knew and even added more. The DA knew he was lying…but they put him on the stand. Tony tried to back out but they threatened him with an old felony charge. His back was to the wall. Deborah was going away from life based on the testimony that the DA knew was false. How can they live with themselves?
In 2005, three years after the case was reopened, the DA former deputy DA for LA County, David Guthman took a look at the case. In his opinion, the charges were not in line with the evidence. He went to the prosecutor’s office in LA that oversaw the parole unit. Although he wasn’t able to see the case, he was told that an alibi memo from 1983 mentioned the DA was not to seek the death penalty. BUT they did threaten her with it, which was the only reason she took the plea. It turned out the alibi memo contained a LOT more than that. So in 1983 the DA’s office knew…that the witness was not reliable, there were accusations of molestation and Deborah wasn’t motivated by financial gain….yet they went after her.
Deborah’s attorneys met with District Attorney Scott Cooley and it took more than 3 years for him to agree her charges should have been voluntary manslaughter with a maximum of 6 years. They were finally able to walk into prison and give Deborah some good news….bringing her to tears. “It’s really happening” Deborah cried. Finally the gates of abuse were opening.
However it didn’t take long to receive a letter back from the DA’s office saying the deal had been withdrawn. District Attorney Steve Cooley broke his written plea agreement in order to align himself with the prosecutors who had established a pattern of misconduct. Apparently a few feet were stepped on. Lael Rubin, the Chief District Attorney over the appellate division was irritated the attorneys had gone over her head. It seemed like a power play as opposed to righting a wrong. This was the same woman that led HBO to make a movie called “Indictment” where Lael’s character was the villain. I can see why! In addition, the prosecutor’s office was upset that Deborah didn’t sign a document releasing LA county from all wrong doing. All of the players from the DA’s office seemed to have been people who had been wrapped up in scandal themselves. They were more concerned about their own preservation than doing the right thing.
It seemed as if the judicial cover-up is what was keeping her locked away, so they decided to get the media involved and play hardball. The lawyers began court proceedings against the DA’s office in hopes of forcing them to hold to the deal they promised. The more coverage Deborah got, the more people began to listen. Soon she was getting National attention. With all the heat on this case something was bound to crack.
Eventually Bobby walked through the door with a copy of DA’s “alibi memo” which spelled out all the injustices. The document admitted that the DA’s office knew the main witness had perjured himself on the stand and had been a paid informant for law enforcement for decades. With all the momentum, the attorneys were able to get the case pushed back down from the appellate court for the case to be heard. This rarely happened and was a good sign for Deborah. Six years into the reopened case, the facts of misconduct in the DA’s office was finally going to surface in court. For over a year the DA’s office dragged on with an appeal. Then a new twist – 27 years into a sentence, Deborah was diagnosed with lung cancer. “I always worried that her last breath would be inside those walls instead of with us. There is no way I will have peace if it happens that way” her daughter Natasha expressed.
Nadia and Joshua drove down to support Deborah through her first chemotherapy treatment. “We’re really not attorney-client. We’re like family. They make me feel like they’re my family”. Doctors gave her 8 months to live. Joshua and Nadia immediately filed for a “compassionate release” and were denied by the California Department of Corrections. They then requested a new parole hearing. She was granted a hearing 3 months early…and then it was postponed for 6 weeks. Finally the day came and her story was heard. The parole board released Deborah due to the domestic violence evidence and the community support aspect. However the decision wasn’t final. Governor Schwarzenegger had 30 days to review and possibly overturn the parole finding. Her fate was in his hands. With thousands of letters of support and only one opposing which was from District Attorney Steve Cooley who had invested interest in covering up the misconduct in his own house. It amazes me. Deborah served 27 years for her crime but I doubt anyone in the DA’s office will be held accountable for what I consider to be far worse crimes. The Governor declined to review the case and Deborah was set to be released. Quietly sneaking her out the back door with no cameras around, the prison officials handed her off to her parole officer in a Denny’s parking lot. Hearing the news, Joshua was brought to tears. It was finally over.
Deborah didn’t want to fight anymore. She could have sued the DA’s office. She just wanted to spend time with her family. She had only 10 short months with her family…and I am certain they were the best moments of her life. Deborah died at age 50 in 2010.
Over 120,000 women are behind bars in the US and over 80% are survivors of domestic violence, rape and other abuses. Deborah was only the 24th woman to be released under the new California law for incarcerated abuse survivors. Something is wrong. Law enforcement, the judicial system, doctors and the entire community need to become better educated about domestic violence and then we all need to STAND UP against it. There is no place for domestic violence in our world. The cycle CAN be stopped.
This documentary reminded me how important it is for us all to hold elected officials accountable for their actions. We vote for district attorneys, judges, governors. We employ those working in our judicial system. So many times we hear stories of people skirting the laws and we forget how many are violated by them. It is our job to protect each other. Don’t only stand up when you are being wronged…stand up when anyone is being wronged!
If you are a victim of domestic violence or are looking to volunteer, check out our “Be Empowered” page here.