Sentencing the Victim

Description: A rape victim faces both her assailants and a parole system that forces her to relive her trauma On June 17, 1988, Joanna Katz's life was changed forever. That night, she and another woman were abducted at gunpoint, taken to an abandoned house in Charleston, South Carolina, and brutally raped, beaten and tortured by five men for more than five hours. But, remarkably, she did live...and the story of how a blood soaked 19-year old was able to walk away from her attackers, save her friend from certain death, and fight for the convictions of her assailants is the compelling foundation for SENTENCING THE VICTIM. But that is only part of the story: Despite their sentences of 30 to 35 years, Joanna faces frequent and repeated hearings before the parole board, forced to relive her trauma over and over again. This mesmerizing documentary explores one woman's journey to heal, opening our eyes to the inequities of our judicial system-a system which often imposes scars upon the same violent crime victims it is designed to protect. Most of all, it is a story about survival.