Oregon woman who killed abusive husband free after decade in prison

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — A woman imprisoned for killing her abusive husband is free.

The Daily Courier reports 46-year-old Wendy Maldonado was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced in March 2006.

Her sister Michelle Roberts says about 20 family members greeted Maldonado when she left the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility on Monday after a decade of incarceration.

Maldonado's then-16-year-old son was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for his role in the death and was released from prison in 2011.

According to an article in the Oregonian, Maldonado said her husband "raped her, threatened to kill her anytime she talked back and told her his fantasies, nightmarish stories of raping and torturing other young women. He told her he would kill her parents and everyone in her extended family if she ever went to police."

Maldonado and her son killed Aaron Maldonado in bed using a hammer and a hatchet on April 30, 2005.

Both argued in court that they were protecting themselves from physical and emotional abuse.

Aaron Maldonado was fatally bludgeoned in May 2005 while he was in bed at home.

Two governors denied clemency for Maldonado.

Roberts says her sister is looking forward to settling in and spending time with her four sons in Grants Pass.