She will not be released until her youngest child is 32 years old.

by Katie Kausch

It sounds like something out of the plot for a bad made-for-TV movie: A father horrifically abuses his two small children and gets off with two years of time served, while their mother is sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Sadly, this is the reality for Tondalo Hall, a 31-year-old mother of three and domestic abuse survivor. On Wednesday (Sept. 23), a request for commutation of her 30-year sentence for failing to protect her children from abuse was denied by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, angering women's rights groups and highlighting a troubling pattern of incarcerating battered women.

Oklahoma Department of Corrections

In 2006, Robert Braxton, the father of Hall's two youngest children, pled guilty to child abuse charges and admitted he "knew [he] was using too much force and pressure for a baby" while changing the couple's 20-month old daughter. Braxton received a sentence of two years in jail, including time served -- meaning he was able to go home almost as soon as the trial had finished.

Braxton broke bones in their two children's legs and ribs, requiring hospital visits on more than one occasion. He also allegedly abused Hall, as she said testified in court, and again in her commutation request.

"Robert regularly choked me, blackened my eyes, threw objects at me and verbally assaulted me while my children were in the home," Hall wrote in her commutation request. "I did not escape the relationship out of fear that Robert would file for custody of our children and I would never be allowed to see them again."

The alleged abuses were also mentioned during Hall's trial, but the judge struck them from the record, saying they were not relevant to the charges at hand.

"She is the one person in this world who should be standing up for [the children] and taking up for them and making sure that they are loved and they are cared for, and she did not do that, "prosecuting attorney Angela Marsee told the court during Hall's trial. "They we're in harm's way because of what she did, and they were in pain because of what she didn’t do, and she should pay for that."

This type of victim blaming perpetuates the notion that mothers should be protect their children at all costs, and ignores the people who are committing the abuses.

District Court Of Oklahoma County

More than half of all female domestic abuse victims have children under 12, according to the Department of Justice -- a fact that can make leaving an abusive relationship extremely difficult. Women may feel powerless to protect themselves or their children against their abusers, for fear of even greater harm.

"I believe that my testimony detailing the violence in our home was used against me. Rather than being protected by the State I was prosecuted," Hall wrote about her lack of action in her commutation request. "I was trapped in an abusive relationship and I feared that alerting authorities would provoke Robert to increase his violence. My decisions, although detrimental to my family, were made out of fear rather than rationality."

An investigation by BuzzFeed News found that 73 women have been sentenced to 10 years or more "for failing to stop their partners from harming their children," while only four fathers have received similar sentences. Although the various state laws are written to be gender neutral, the law is being unevenly used to prosecute battered women.

Hall has no prior history of any crime -- not even a traffic ticket -- but because of Oklahoma state laws, she has lost custody of all three of her children (they now live with Hall's cousin), and will not be released until her youngest child is 32 years old.

"I loved and cared for my children and I would appreciate the opportunity to watch them grow up," Hall had written. The Pardon and Parole Board voted 5-0 to deny her this opportunity.

If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship, there are ways to seek help, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you're not sure if what you're experiencing counts as abuse, the LoveIsRespect quiz can help.