Donna Lomelino: Abuse Survivor’s Journey from Victim to Advocate
This episode of Justice Voices features abuse survivor Donna Lomelino sharing her emotionally intense story. We confront difficult realities about criminal justice policy through Donna Lomelino’s experience as an abuse survivor who faced extraordinary injustice.
Different Types of Imprisonment for Abuse Survivors like Donna Lomelino
Some prisons consist of concrete and steel. Others exist only in the mind.
People in physical prisons recognize their confinement. Those in psychological prisons often don’t. Women and children trapped in abusive relationships, as Donna Lomelino once was, may deny their situation. They might even resist help from family, friends, police, and prosecutors trying to save them from danger.
Seeing Trauma Through Donna’s Survivor Perspective
Observing abuse from the outside differs greatly from understanding it from within. Today’s episode offers you this inside perspective through abuse survivor Donna Lomelino’s firsthand account.
Abuse Survivor Turned Advocate
In this first part of our two-part series, you’ll meet Donna Lomelino from Springfield, Illinois. This remarkable abuse survivor now works with a faith-based organization helping homeless women and children who survived abuse. Her compassion and sense of mission as an abuse survivor advocate shine through everything she does.
Donna’s Shocking Abuse Survivor Journey
When you speak with Donna today, you’d never guess her past. As an abuse survivor, she endured violence from childhood through young adulthood. Eventually, authorities sent her to prison for a horrific crime her abusive boyfriend committed. This crime occurred while she worked out of state. Despite her absence, Illinois law allowed prosecutors and judges to hold her criminally responsible.
How could this happen to an abuse survivor like Donna Lomelino? Indeed—a good question.
What’s Coming in Part 2 of Donna’s Story
The next episode will explore abuse survivor Donna’s prison experience. She met many women there who also suffered abuse. Some, like her, served time for crimes their abusers committed.
Most importantly, part 2 reveals how she evolved from abuse survivor to advocate, who she is today, and what transformed her life.
About Your Hosts
David Risley hosts this episode with co-host Lynard Joiner. Lynard, once Mr. Risley’s defendant, shared his own story in episodes 1 and 2 of Justice Voices. Together, they help abuse survivor Donna Lomelino tell her powerful story.
- Justice Voices website: https://justicevoices.org
- SING website: https://ShiftingIntoNewGear.org
