Twenty-four-year-old law student Adrienne Hickson was looking forward to a career in criminal law. She was also looking forward to spending her life with her college sweetheart, Shawn Washington. After college, she got into a prestigious law school in Washington DC, while Shawn got a full-time job in Atlanta, but they stayed together despite the 600 miles separating them.

However, 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. She became increasingly possessive and called constantly to keep tabs on him.

By the night of 21st December 2005, Shawn had had enough. He asked friends to wait in the parking lot for him while he told Adrienne to leave. Ten minutes later, he stumbled back out, covered in blood and clutching his shoulder. While the 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, only to discover that he was dead and that there was a warrant out for her arrest. At a bond hearing, her attorney claimed she was a battered woman; the prosecutor said that Adrienne was the abuser with a history of violence. The former law student found herself in a courtroom but as a defendant, not an attorney.