Complex Domestic Violence Case Results in 10-Year Sentence

Court news by Angela Downs

PORT TOWNSEND, WA — Anna Young, 64, was found guilty by a jury for 1st degree assault with a deadly weapon and domestic violence. She was sentenced on January 30 to ten years in prison, including the mandatory two years for use of a deadly weapon, and will later have 36 months in community custody, supervised release. There is a lifetime no contact order between the victim and the defendant.

The standard sentencing for similar crimes is between 117-147 months. The state recommended the highest end of sentencing because of aggravated circumstances; the assault was committed while the victim was sleeping, Young then fled the scene to Edmonds, where she stashed $2,000 before speaking to the police. The state also cited the extent of the victim’s wounds—a fractured skull and severed ear from eight hatchet lacerations, and a broken finger. Blood evidence showed that the victim fled and was pursued throughout the house.

As Young had no prior criminal history and testified to being subject to domestic violence (DV) and marital rape from her husband, the defense recommended a sentence shorter than the standard range due to the mitigating circumstances. They argued the assault was an isolated incident, meeting requirements for mitigation. They asked for 0 days in jail beyond the 2-year mandatory sentence of total confinement from the deadly weapon enhancement, meaning Young will not have reduced time or early release for those mandatory two years. 

In a sentencing memo, attorney Lillian Powers made it clear that being found guilty of assault should not reduce the importance of Young's trauma. “The State's argument that the jury's guilty verdict is a rejection of Ms. Young's experiences as a domestic violence and sexual assault survivor is misleading, and, frankly, repugnant,” Powers said.

Ronald Stephens, 79, gave his victim impact statement saying, “Now that Anna Young has been convicted, I am beginning to find relief . . . I am looking forward to getting her and these incidents out of my mind and enjoying the rest of my life.”

Young said in her closing statement, “I am not nor will I be a danger to society . . . I am deeply sorry for everything.”

After hearing from the State and the Defendant, witnessing the victim impact statement and hearing the defendant's statement, Superior Judge Brandon Mack began his analysis for sentencing at a midrange of 10 years.

While the defense argued that Young was acting in response to continued abuse, coercion, and assault, during the trial the jury did not find the assault to be an act of self defense. Judge Mack agreed in his sentencing that Stephens was not an aggressor on the night of the assault.

The Court also found that the $60,000 Young had Stephens place in an account which she then drained exactly a month before the assault to pay her mother back, played a part in Young’s motivation. Judge Mack openly grappled with the question of power dynamics within the relationship. 

Attorney Powers said during sentencing that Young is now a criminalized survivor, a statistic of domestic violence survivors who are incarcerated for crimes committed under coercion or in resistance to domestic violence. Less than 10% of DV offenders are convicted, yet up to 70-95% of women incarcerated have experienced DV, according to victimization and trauma expert, Sherry Hamby, Ph.D.

Judge Mack acknowledged that Young has health issues and that it will be hard for her to get medical care in prison. He also spoke to Young's grief of not being able to support her mother at the end of her life, but stated the Court could not do anything about these circumstances.

corrections: in an earlier version of this article we misidentified a document that Powers was quoted in. We also misidentified when she made remarks about Young's status as a DV survivor. We also clarified that Young's accusations of DV against Stephens were made during trial; he has not been convicted of any wrongdoing.