Comrades we have news. After 5 years of being home, after over 8 years of incarceration, Lili has successfully fought for and won her record being sealed and a host of charges against her have also been vacated and expunged. This is cause to celebrate! If you’re unfamiliar with Alisha’s case, you can revisit these archived resources from our comrades Kelly Hayes and Survived & Punished. The following is a joint statement from our comrades, including Alisha, in response to this win.
We know justice doesn’t come from the courtroom–from laws, or judges, or even well-meaning lawyers. Full stop. It comes from us–from those being directly impacted and the struggles we wage in honor of ourselves and our broader communities. Justice comes when we fight, rally others, build together, form relationships that nurture and heal us, and expand possibilities of care, connection, and compassion. Justice comes when we shift away from institutions predicated upon shame, death, punishment, or caging and shift toward each other in all our complexity and needs.
On a small, specific scale, justice would have looked like Alisha getting sex worker and survivor-centered healing and wellness support after her attack, money for housing/education/living expenses and access to greater support networks of care, and understanding NOT being exposed to whorephobic and racist courtrooms, rapist lawyers, media assassination, jails and prisons (abuse, neglect, sexual violence), parole scrutiny and then discrimination on all fronts after coming home.
On a larger scale, we would envision justice as having safe, free housing, robust social care, excellent creative education, nourishing foods, an end to criminalization, concepts of the family that don’t foster abuse and neglect, an end to exploitation in all of its forms (yes, that means waged labor too) and a world that no longer stigmatizes and hates whores. It would be a world where what happened to Lili couldn’t be fathomed because we were in charge. This is a sort of prayer, or spell, and why we fight.
Electing to engage with the criminal legal system is always scary…what do you mean we’re choosing to go to court. But choice really didn’t factor here. This was a strategic necessity, a tactical hope. There was only so much we could do without records being vacated or sealed. Any time a job our housing application was submitted, any hospital visit or childcare need arose, this “criminal” background was found, and used to bar access to basic human needs and dignity. So when the opportunity to challenge this (and pro bono no less) presented itself, we knew we had to be brave and seize it. Alisha was compelled to defend herself yet again.
The fairly new Illinois law claiming to provide certain amnesty for “victims” of “human trafficking” (their language, not ours per say) provided a unique opportunity. Alisha made a strategic call to partner with an organization we don’t typically collaborate with, whom we were connected to through an Illinois-wide criminalized survivors alliance coalition. And the lawyer taking on Alisha’s petition to vacate believed there was a strong case she could build for expungement. She practically guaranteed it to Lili.
The first hearing, on September 17th, was brutal. For all who attended Alisha’s hearing in person or on zoom, thank you. We hope y’all were able to do something gentle for yourselves after, because that was a really tough space to be in. There were over 15 people in the zoom room for Alisha and just under a dozen in-person. It meant so much to have such powerful community support, especially since Alisha’s attacker had family present too. The state trotted out a dehumanizing narrative, and Alisha’s council was chastised by the judge repeatedly. It was a tense room. The judge ultimately decided she needed to review the original trial transcripts in full, in addition to all of the new petitions/letters/supporting documents etc, in order to rule on vacating Alisha’s 2nd degree murder charge. It of course put an undue burden on Alisha to return to court. The state did not object to vacating several other prostitution and related charges Lili has, but those aren’t the ones preventing her from pursuing nursing school, business loans, salon work or housing…
The second hearing, held on October 14th, was exceedingly brief. The judge began by stating that she had reviewed every single piece of documentation regarding Alisha’s initial case–trial transcripts, character letters, articles, video footage, and other documents. She read the confusing legalese of the relief law, tripping over its language a bit herself–mentioning that there exist no precedents yet for vacating or expunging the type of charges Alisha has under such a law, even though that’s exactly why this law now exists (and without such exemptions). She declared that even though Alisha herself was a victim and qualified to use such a law, this particular act of self-defense was a choice.
We could almost hear the disgusted gasps even though we were separated in the observation room or muted on zoom. Everyone’s eyes went wide, and our faces grimaced. Then she ruled against vacating or expunging. But then the unexpected happened, and she ruled that instead she is sealing this case. Comrades, this is ultimately a win.
The judge clearly didn’t want to set a precedent with vacating or expunging a second degree murder charge using the Illinois law that is supposed to help survivors of human trafficking clear charges that occurred to them while they were experiencing exploitation, but she did extend some much needed relief. So while the judge cowardly chose not to interpret the law in favor of fully clearing Alisha, she did the legal-technical next best thing: sealed Alisha’s criminal record on this, and vacated the other Illinois based (racist/classist/anti-sex work charges) charges against her. She also mentioned Alisha and her counsel could appeal this decision. The judge’s remarks after reviewing every shred of case documentation she was sent also plainly entered into record that Alisha was failed by the courts before and that (Lili’s attacker) Alan Filan was participating in human trafficking. Again, her language, not ours, and yet this is a major shift from the court’s existing narrative about Alisha and Filan. And by extension criminalized workers and their assailants / violent clients.
What does this mean? Sealing her case effectively means that anyone who would run a background check can no longer see the second degree murder charge which will still unjustly remain on her record. Vacating the other charges means those will be removed from Lili’s “criminal” background/record. There are no more court appearances required at this time. The best way to support Alisha right now is by donating to her healing fund via these methods or by sending a gift toward her baby registry.
A lot has changed over the past thirteen or so years. A lot also hasn’t. The criminal legal system doesn’t recognize the spectrum of sex working experiences or the complexity of the sex trades, let alone the full humanity of people convicted of crimes. Many organizations that purport to support survivors of gender-based violence still harbor whorephobia toward us and our criminalized comrades. The general public still demands perfect victimhood to extend any empathy or support. And we all know there’s no such thing as the perfect victim, despite being forced to peddle such narratives in the courts or media. There are only people, imperfect, messy, living their lives, doing their best, trying to survive, sometimes in the face of unspeakable violence.
Alisha has been through Hell, and then some. In spite of this, she has built a life, a family, a community founded in love. It is a testament to her spirit and her organizing work that she’s accomplished so much with the weight of the state stacked against her. We have always been proud to call her comrade and chosen family. For eleven years we’ve fought alongside her, and other sex workers, survivors of exploitation and those who identify as both. We can’t wait to see what Lili will pursue and build for herself and others next. For all those who’ve been with us in struggle and solidarity from the start and for all those new to the fight to defend and protect criminalized survivors and sex workers, we are so thankful. Celebrate this win with us. We still need you, and you are welcome here. We want nothing less than the whole world.
In love and rage,
Support Ho(s)e Collective & Justice for Alisha Walker Defense Committee