Summary Pretty, ambitious, 24-year-old law student Adrienne Hickson was looking forward to a career in criminal law, and to spending her life with her college sweetheart, Shawn Washington. After college, she got into a prestigious law school in Washington, D.C. while Shawn got a full-time job in Atlanta. They stayed together despite the 600 miles separating them. But, after a year apart, the long-distance relationship was showing signs of strain. When Adrienne went to Atlanta to visit Shawn in December, 2005, they fought constantly. She began to time him when he went out and called constantly to keep tabs on him. On December 21, after a loud argument in the parking lot of Shawn's apartment, the two decided to take the fight inside. Ten minutes later, Shawn stumbled back out, covered in blood and clutching his shoulder. While friends rushed him to the hospital, Adrienne got in her car and went home to her family in South Carolina. She came back on Christmas night to visit Shawn in the hospital but discovered he was dead -- and there was a warrant out for her arrest. In June, 2007, the former law student found herself in a courtroom, not as an attorney, but as a defendant. Her defense claimed she was a battered woman; the prosecutor said that Adrienne was the one with a history of violence. When the jury deadlocked, Adrienne took an Alford plea, which meant she accepted punishment, without admitting guilt. She was sentenced to five years in prison.

• Crime
• Crime Documentary
• Documentary