An Oklahoma woman who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for failing to protect her children from abuse was freed on Friday.

Tondalao Hall, 35, served 15 years behind bars while her and her children's abuser served just two years in jail.

Her case was the subject of a 2014 BuzzFeed News investigation that found 28 mothers in 11 states were sentenced to 10 years or more for failing to protect their children. In each of those cases, including Hall's, there was evidence that the mother herself was also a victim of the abuse. Hall's case was one of three where the mother got a longer sentence than the man who actually abused the child.

Hall was arrested in 2004 at age 19 for injuries that were found on her two youngest children after she took them to the hospital for treatment. The children’s father and her then-boyfriend, Robert Braxton, received a two-year sentence for breaking the ribs and femur of their 3-month-old daughter.



Braxton walked free more than a decade ago, having been let go for time served. Meanwhile, Hall was locked up in an all-women prison in McLoud, Oklahoma, until Friday.

“First and foremost, I want to thank God for making a way and for keeping me safe and sane during this season of my life,” Hall said in a statement from the ACLU of Oklahoma. “Secondly, for all the people God has placed in my life, my children and my family for sticking by me. Time and space cannot accommodate the list of people who have loved, helped, and supported me through all of this, so, to everyone who has, thank you and God bless you!”



Hall received a unanimous vote from the state parole board last month to recommend her for commutation. Gov. Kevin Stitt approved the request Thursday, according to the ACLU.