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Dessie Woods

Released
Gender:Female
Race:Black
Era:1970s
State:Georgia
Support
Black Liberation
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Biography

Black woman from Georgia who in 1975 shot and killed a white insurance agent who attempted to rape her and her companion Cheryl Todd. Sentenced to 22 years in prison and became the focus of a major national defense campaign through the late 1970s, including by PFOC. Released in 1981. Documented in PFOC Breakthrough magazine.

Case

Hardwick Correctional Institution
Charges: Murder (shot would-be rapist in self-defense)
Arrested: Jun 16, 1975
Released: Jul 9, 1981
Institution State: Georgia