Man Gets Two Years In Prison For Abusing Children — Their Mother Gets 30 Years For Letting Him

In a shocking case that has people crying foul at the United States justice system, a woman named Tondalo Hall will be serving a 30-year prison term for failing to protect her children from her boyfriend, who only had to serve two years in prison for continued verbal and physical abuse.

According to BuzzFeed, Tondalo Hall submitted a plea for a shortened sentence on Wednesday, which was denied by the courts shortly after. Now, women’s rights activists are standing up in protest against the unjust prison terms. Though Tondalo Hall’s boyfriend confessed to breaking the ribs and the femur of their daughter, who was only three-months-old, he was released in 2006 after serving only two years in prison. Meanwhile, Tondalo Hall was found guilty of failing to stop her boyfriend from abusing her children, but she did not actually harm them herself. She won’t even be eligible for parole until 2030.

The national women’s rights organization UltraViolet is speaking out in defense of Tondalo Hall, circulating a petition for her release that has so far acquired more than 70,000 signatures. Shaunna Thomas, the co-founder of UltraViolet claims the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has committed further injustice by failing to approve Hall’s clemency request.

“Tondalo Hall, a 30-year old mother from Oklahoma, is serving a sentence 15 times that of the man who abused her — for ‘failing to protect’ her children from him,” says the UltraViolet website. “It’s a cruel failure of the justice system that all too often punishes survivors of domestic violence. Right now, we have a chance to make it right.”

The board gave no explanation for denying Tondalo Hall her request, and instead spent the hearing focusing on the mother’s knowledge of her children’s injuries. While Tondalo Hall admits that she should have done more to protect her children, she believes her neglect is far less egregious than the courts have made it out to be.

“I know I failed as a mother, and I’m just asking for a second chance,” Tondalo Hall said, in tears.

According to Newser, the unnamed boyfriend was not just physically abusive toward her children, he also regularly abused Tondalo Hall herself, likely making it difficult for her to stand up to him. He admitted to frequently punching her, choking her, verbally abusing her, and keeping her isolated from her family members.

Tondalo Hall tried to make it clear that she did not lay a finger on her children herself in her application for a reduced sentence. The request was denied anyway.

“Despite my failures, I did not physically abuse my children. I was an active parent and a proud mother. I loved and cared for my children and I would appreciate the opportunity to watch them grow up.”

Do you think Tondalo Hall should be given a second chance?

[Tondalo Hall image credit: Oklahoma Department of Corrections]