Systemic violence impacts Native woman’s sentence
27-year-old shot, killed white man in July 2020
In the past few years, the nuances of cases of women of color killing white men — whether for reasons of self-defense or because they were victims of sex trafficking — have increasingly made headlines. One case, in which a Native woman killed a white man, has recently been highlighted by advocates. They say the outcome of the case was the result of colonial systems — but that it shows what’s possible when a judge takes those systems into consideration during sentencing.
On Nov. 17, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington sentenced Maddesyn George, a 27-year-old enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and drug charges, to 6½ years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and possession of drugs.
That’s over 10 years fewer than the 17 years the prosecution was asking for.
The crime in question took place in July 2020 on the Colville Reservation in eastern Washington state where George lived. She shot a white man named Kristopher Graber with his own gun. According to an interview with police, George feared Graber because he had allegedly violently sexually assaulted her the day before.
The prosecution, meanwhile, focused on what happened after the assault — arguing that George took Graber’s gun, cash and methamphetamines, making Graber a victim of theft.
Ahead of sentencing, Judge Rosanna Peterson said she found George’s sexual assault allegation credible. Activist Tess Abrahamson-Richards, an organizer with the Campaign to Free Maddesyn George, said that Peterson reflected on the data the campaign provided to the court explaining the context of George’s crime, and the implications for future survivors of violence if George were to be given the full sentence.
Activists believe that George’s sentence shows the limitations of the justice system but represents a trend regarding how outside advocacy can help court officials better understand how victims of violence can become perpetrators.
In particular, they argue that the federal prosecution’s case against George was built on the legacy and ongoing forces of settler-colonialism that fostered a culture in which George, as well as thousands of other Native women, are seen as disposable. This is especially relevant because of a growing awareness of Native victims of violence, according to Stephanie Lumsden, an enrolled member of the Hupa Valley Tribe in Northern California,
a Ph.D. candidate in gender studies at UCLA and an organizer with the Campaign to Free Maddesyn George. (The prosecution’s office did not respond to a request for comment.)
According to the Department of Justice, more than 50 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced sexual violence. And for Native women who are victims of violence, 97 percent experienced violence by non-Native perpetrators.