CARY — It was either one or the other. Fans swiveled their heads in anticipation of who would clinch the match. 

The contest was between Duke’s freshmen, Liv Hovde and Irina Balus, each just a point away on courts one and two. This time, under the cloudless Cary sky, Balus pushed the Blue Devils into the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils defeated the Yellow Jackets 4-1 as the Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, native shook hands with Georgia Tech’s Alejandra Cruz after her first match-clinching win. 

“I knew I just had to keep fighting, play aggressive and that moment [would] come where the match is going to turn around,” Balus said. “So I was waiting for that moment. It came at 4-all in the second set, and then I would say the momentum went into my favor.”

Once Balus reached that inflection point in the match, she squashed her Yellow Jacket opponent. Breaking Cruz in the first game, Balus took two deuce points and five straight games, winning 6-1.

On court one, Hovde’s match against Scarlett Nicholson, also a three-set thriller, ended unfinished, almost adding another top-25 win to the Duke freshman’s resumé. In an extremely close first set, the Daniel Island, S.C., native edged a 7-6 tiebreak victory, fighting in prolonged rallies. Hovde’s drop shots forced Nicholson out of position, opening opportunities to place volleys out her reach. Nicholson responded in the second 6-4, even going up 3-1 in the third, but Hovde put on a clinic, winning four-straight games.

“That was some of the best tennis she has played all year,” Ashworth said about Hovde. “Irina came through huge from the middle of the second set all the way through that third set. We need both of them to accomplish the goals this team wants to accomplish.” 

The rest of the singles matches were also close, reminiscent of Duke’s 4-3 victory in Atlanta. Eleana Yu was on the opposite end of a first-set tiebreaker. She found momentum in the second set 6-3, and led in the third before the clinch. 

Ellie Coleman, the rock of the Blue Devils, cruised to 6-2, 6-3 win to offset Shavit Kimchi’s 6-3, 6-2 loss. Meanwhile, Emma Jackson battled against Kate Sharabura in two close sets, ending victorious 7-5 and 6-4. Sharabura’s height caused problems for Jackson’s lob shots, but the La Grange Park, Ill., native found alternate ways to success. Jackson secured four straight games in the second set through strong serves — indicated by 68% total serve points won — and rounding to her forehand to place it out of reach of Sharabura. 

“We’ve had a great season so far,” Balus said. “Each of us want to fight for each other, especially for Emma and Ellie, we want to make a great senior year for them and win this.”

Georgia Department of Transportation continues essential road work throughout Southeast Georgia. As a result, work on construction and maintenance projects will continue Saturday, April 19 through Friday, April 25.  
 
All work subject to change due to weather or other factors. Motorists are cautioned to reduce their speed while traveling through work zones, pay attention and watch for workers. 
 
Traffic interruptions are listed below by interstates, categories, and counties. 
 
Interstate 95  
 
 I-95 North at FL State Line                           Camden County   
St. Marys River Bridge (FDOT) Repairs   
Overnight Lane Closures in FL & GA    
 
I-95 SB & NB at MP 90 – 91                            Chatham County   
Northbound & Southbound Left Lane Closure  
Pouring Concrete Footer for Signs 
Nightly Single Lane Closure 
12/05/2024 – 4/29/2025 
  
I-95 @ Crooked River                                    Camden County    
Bridge Maintenance/Rehabilitation  
Laurel Island Pkwy (Exit 6) to Hariett Bluff Rd (Exit 7)                          
Nightly Lane Closures 7pm – 7am thru June 2025 
 
I-95 SB & NB at MP 85 – 112                         Bryan/Chatham County 
North & Southbound Outside Lane Closures  
Concrete Work for Sign Improvements 
Nightly Sunday – Saturday 7pm – 7am  
November 10, 2024 – April 30, 2025  
 
I-95 NB Ogeechee River MP 90 – 91             Chatham County   
Northbound & Southbound Lane Closure  
Bridge Maintenance Rehabilitation  
Nightly Weekend Single Lane Closure Friday – Monday 9pm – 6am 
Continuous Shoulder Closures – Currently on I-95 Southbound 
2/21/2024 – 4/30/2025 
 
 
Interstate 16      
 
I-16 Under Chatham Parkway Bridge          Chatham County 
MP 163.5 – 161.5 
Nightly Single Left Lane Closure 6pm to 5am 
Bridge Jacking, Structural Repairs, Deck Replacement  
3/1/2025 – 5/10/2025 
 
I-16 Over Chatham Parkway Bridge             Chatham County 
MP 47.42 – 47.72 
Nightly Single Left Lane Closure 6pm to 5am 
Temporary Traffic Stoppages, Flagging Operations & Lane Closures 
Bridge Jacking, Structural Repairs, Deck Replacement  
3/1/2025 – 5/10/2025                            
 
I-16 at Milepost 111-138                                 Bulloch County 
Bulloch/Candler Line to Bryan/Bulloch County Line 
Nightly Lane Closures 7pm to 6am  
Repairing Concrete Pavement and Striping 
 
I-16 Milepost 94-111                                        Candler County
Candler/Emanuel line to Bulloch/Candler Line
Nightly lane closures from 7p.m. till 6a.m.
Repairing concrete pavement and striping
  
I-16 EB & WB at MP 120 to 160 Chatham & Bulloch County  
From Nevils Denmark Rd to I-95  
Daily Lane Closures 8am to 6pm   
Preconstruction Activity (Geotechnical Drillings)  
4/7/2025 – 5/5/2025 
  
 
Bridge & Road Closures with Detours  
 
Antioch Church Rd Over Surveyors Creek      Clinch County 
Bridge/Roadway Closed for Bridge Replacement 
Scheduled to Close February 17 to August 2025 
Detour via US 441, US 84, Jamestown Rd, Antioch Church Rd. 
 
Birdford Lake Rd                                            Tattnall County 
Bridge/Road Closed for Storm Damage Repairs 
Detour via US 301, E. Hencart Rd, John M. Brewton Rd 
 
Post Rd                                                            Jeff Davis County 
Bridge/Road Closed for Bridge Replacement 
12/2/24 – 6/22/25 
Detour via Pine Level Church Rd, SR 19, Ira Graham Rd, Brantley Rd, Philadelphia Church Rd, Taylor Rd 
 
Rayonier Rd at Spring Grove Rd                 Wayne County 
Roundabout Construction 
Roundabout Open and in Final Alignment  
Daily Shoulder Closures and Traffic Pacing  
Expected Completion 2^nd Quarter 2025 
 
 
Bridge Construction, Rehabilitation, and Maintenance  
 
US 84/SR 38 at Doctors Creek                      Long County  
From Maple Road NE to Austin Lane SE (MP.0 to 2.00)   
WB Bridge Replacement Project 
On-site Detour Begins Thurs., Aug. 8 
WB Median Crossover Detour  
Signal Lane Traffic in Both Directions on Eastbound Bridge 
 
US 84/SR 38 at Satilla River                           Pierce/Ware Counties 
Northside of Bridge Closed to Traffic for Replacement 
Signal Lane Traffic in Both Directions on Southside of the Bridge 
  
SR 38/US 84 @ Little McMillan Creek             Wayne County   
Median Crossover Detour with Lane Closure 
7/28/24 – 4/3/26 
  
 
Resurfacing  
 
SR 38/US 84 and Old Sunbury Road                Liberty County  
From Joseph Martin Rd to Old Hines Rd   
Daily/Nightly Lane Closures for Installation of Median   
Sunday – Friday 7pm – 6am     

SR 119/Taylors Creek (MP 23 to MP 24)      Liberty County  
From SR 119 at Taylors Creek   
Intermittent Flagging Operations for Bridge Construction  
Pavement Operations  
Temporary Traffic Stoppages, Flagging Operations & Lane Closures  
 
SR 169                                                   Wayne/Appling Counties 
From Sunset Blvd to SR 121 
Temporary Traffic Stoppages, Flagging Operations & Lane Closures 
Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm  
Expected Completion by 8/31/2025 
  
SR 27                                                              Telfair County 
From Tom Haley Rd to Pond Rd 
Daily Lane Closures for Asphalt Resurfacing 
Monday – Saturday 7am – 7pm 
3/24/25 – 5/31/25 
 
SR 56                                                               Montgomery County 
From George Davis Rd. to Mark Burns Rd. 
Daily Lane Closures for Asphalt Resurfacing 
Monday – Friday 7am – 7pm 
4/14/25 – 6/30/25 
 
  
Other Traffic Interruptions    
 
DeRenne Ave                                                 Chatham County 
From Abercorn St to White Bluff Rd       
Installation of New Concrete Medium & Minor Signal Improvements 
Daily WB & EB Lane Closures Monday – Sunday 9am – 3pm     
1/28/2025 – 4/30/2025  
 
SR 25/Burnsed Blvd                                       Chatham County  
US 80/Burnsed Blvd and SR 25/Brampton Rd  
Road Widening, Asphalt Leveling & Paving Operations  
Daily Lane Closures  
 
US 80/SR 26/Ogeechee Rd                             Chatham County 
From Victory Dr to Tremont Rd (MP 16.27 to MP 18.00) 
Utilities Work Needed from Liberty Pkwy to Horizon Pkwy 
Road Widening/Paving Operations/Bridge Demolition   
Bridge Construction Over CSX Railroad  
Daily Lane Closures  
 
US 80/SR 26/Ogeechee Rd                             Chatham County 
From Westgate Blvd & Plymouth Ave (MP15.79 to MP 16.11) 
Closure Needed to Install /Replace existing traffic signals & poles  
Daily Lane Closures 9 am to 3 pm  
 
SR 119                                                             Effingham County 
SR 119 at Honey Ridge Road Intersection 
Daily Lane Closures with Flagging Operation for Addition of Turning Lane at Intersection 
Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm, Saturday & Sunday 7am – 7pm 
4/4/2025 – 4/30/2025 
 
SR 25                                                              Glynn County  
Yacht Road to SR 99 
Daily Lane Closures with Flagging Operation  
Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm and 6pm – 7am   
Expected Completion 3^rd Quarter 2026 
 
US 17/SR 25 AT SR 99                                   Glynn County 
Roundabout Construction on US 17/SR 25 at SR 99 
Roundabout Open and in Final Alignment  
Daily Shoulder Closures and Traffic Pacing 
 
SR 99                                                              Glynn County 
Roundabout Construction on SR 99 at Buc-ee’s and 
Exit 42 Interchange 
Roundabout and Travel Lane Alignment Changes 
Daily Shoulder Closures and Traffic Pacing 
Expected Completion 4^th Quarter 2025
 
SR 4/SR 520                                                   Ware County            
N. Nicholls St. to Stephenson St. (MP 20.64 to 21.17)
Repairing Concrete Pavement and Striping
Weekend Lane Closures 7pm Friday to 6am Monday                           
 

Latoya Dickens says she’s been robbed of her life twice.

The first time, it was taken by a man who she said violently abused and controlled her for over a decade, starting when she was a teenager. The second time, she says, the state of Georgia took it — when they put her in prison for killing him in self-defense.

Now, at age 53, she says her life is her own. She is out on parole after about 25 years behind bars, and treasures the steps she’s taken in her first few months of freedom: A driver’s license, legal paperwork to start a cleaning business, a trip to see her children.

A Georgia bill, which passed the state legislature in early April, might have given her back that life sooner. If it is signed by the governor, as is anticipated, it will become one of the most comprehensive laws in the country offering protection to abuse survivors convicted or accused of a crime connected to their abuse.

Advocates say the success of the legislation, which passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support, suggests a path for states across the political spectrum to put laws on the books that better account for the trauma of abuse.

The Georgia legislation tries to protect survivors from long prison sentences by making changes to three key moments in a criminal case: the trial, sentencing and post-conviction. It will make it easier for survivors to include evidence of abuse — both as a defense against conviction, and as a consideration in the length of the sentence if they are found guilty. For those already behind bars, it offers more opportunities for resentencing.

Dickens hopes it will free the many women she met in prison who are “still paying for surviving.”

More than 70 prison of women in prison report experiences of intimate partner violence. And there are many ways that abuse can be connected to their incarceration. The most widely reported is women who kill their abusers in self-defense. In an investigation last year, The Marshall Project also identified the related phenomenon of people who were forced to help their abusers commit crimes, and despite minimal participation, ended up with lengthy sentences.

The Georgia legislation aims to help both kinds of defendants. Ellen Williams, a legal director with the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said her organization became part of the larger movement pushing for the new law after years of what felt like an uphill battle in advocating for survivors caught up in the justice system.

“This is a major substantial issue across the United States,” Williams said. “[The legal system is] designed to ask the question of: ‘Did she pull the trigger?’ Yes or No. It is not built to ask why.”

Rebecca Epstein, executive director of the Center on Gender Justice and Opportunity at Georgetown Law, said that while the Georgia measure is especially comprehensive, it is not the first law attempting to solve this problem.

She recently published a survey of four categories of laws in 50 states involving protection of sex trafficking victims from prostitution charges, self-defense against an abuser, shorter sentences for abuse survivors and expungement of criminal records for victims of sexualized violence. Every state had at least one law in one of these categories, but Virginia was the only state with laws in every single category.

One of the biggest gaps, Epstein noted in the survey, was related to self-defense laws. In order to demonstrate that a person was coerced into committing a crime, or acting in self-defense, states require proof of an explicit, imminent threat. But people who have been abused may not need to have a literal gun held to their head to know that if they don’t follow orders, they will be met with violence, Epstein said.

The survey also shows that while many states have created laws to help prevent sex trafficking survivors from being severely punished for crimes connected to their exploitation, most states have yet to fully extend that same logic to domestic violence survivors.

Progress on laws to protect survivors from long prison sentences have been made in both red and blue states. New York and Oklahoma have some of the most robust laws in the country. There is also proposed legislation in Missouri, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Advocates said there are a few reasons that conservatives, who have been increasingly resistant to criminal justice reform in recent years, might be more open to these kinds of laws. One reason is that while the laws assist people accused or convicted of crimes, they are, at their root, also about protecting victims.

The lead bill sponsor, Republican state Rep. Stan Gunter, is a former prosecutor and judge. “The passage of the Survivor Justice Act brings us one step closer to protecting survivors of abuse, ensuring judicial discretion in sentencing, and protecting families,” Gunter said.

While the legal landscape is rapidly changing, there are still cracks that victims can slip through. Illinois has some of the most progressive laws to protect survivors from punishment, for example, but that hasn’t meant much for Pat Johnson.

Johnson has been in an Illinois prison since 1993 for a triple murder that even prosecutors don’t think Johnson committed. Johnson is a transgender man, but uses she/her pronouns when discussing her life before transition, including the relationship and events that led to incarceration.

Johnson said that in 1992 she watched her abusive boyfriend, Rey Travieso, beat and kill three people, including a baby. When Travieso told her to help collect jewelry and money, and keep her mouth shut, she agreed. She’d spent seven years in the abusive relationship and knew what he was capable of.

Under an “accomplice liability” law, Johnson was convicted for the same crime as Travieso and given the same sentence, because she assisted. Advocates have proposed legislation to change the accomplice liability statute, and hope to have a legislative hearing later this spring.

A different Illinois law allows survivors of domestic violence to seek resentencing. But that law doesn’t allow sentencing to be less than the mandatory minimum, which Johnson was already serving: life in prison. If Johnson has any hope of ever leaving prison, one of the few paths left is clemency. Earlier this week, nearly two dozen family members drove from St. Louis to Chicago for an 18-minute hearing in front of a clemency board.

After the hearing, they huddled together with other supporters, including women who served time with Johnson in prison and local anti-domestic violence advocates. They analyzed every clue from the hearing — even the way clemency board members smiled at the family and how often they made eye contact.

There wasn’t a lot to go on, but it didn’t stop them from trying to predict what will happen next. It may take a year, or even longer, for a final decision. Until then, they wait.

This article was published by The Marshall Project. Read the original here.