Sisters in Pain

This powerful radio documentary recounts the true stories of three women who for years suffered abuse from husbands and boyfriends. In final, extreme retaliation, these women took the lives of their abusers; they were tried in courts of law and sentenced to extensive terms in prison. These Sisters in Pain were among a group of thirteen Kentucky women arrested for committing such crimes—all of whom were eventually granted clemency by then Governor Brereton Jones. In this account, the listener shares their plight, and is forced to question whether or not these crimes should be considered self-defense. As a result of this program, an educational Web site was created by the Louisville Chapter of The Clothesline Project, a victim’s advocacy and support group. Down to Earth Productions and producers D. Cameron Lawrence and John Gregory fill this hour-long radio program with stories of self-discovery positioned within the context of sobering statistics regarding domestic abuse. For informing and involving listeners in an issue that continues to plague women and doing so in a way that initiated social change, a Peabody Award is given to Sisters in Pain.