Nicole Addimando has served five years behind bars for killing a man who she says threatened to kill her and abused her for years. 

Advocates with the Nicole Addimando Community Defense Committee petitioned Gov. Kathy Hochul to release the 34-year-old mother of two, but her clemency petition was passed over on Wednesday. 

The Poughkeepsie woman was convicted of killing her boyfriend and children’s father, Christopher Grover, in 2017. 

Court documents show Grover had engaged in a pattern of abuse against Addimando. 

Supporters helped her win an appeal in 2021, lessening her sentence of 19 years to life down to 7 1/2 years in prison under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act.

Advocates say they hoped clemency would put an end to a painful chapter for Addimando and send a message that victims will be believed and supported. 

“What she has done by denying clemency in this case is that she sent a really terrible message to survivors that, even though they are crying out for justice for liberation, that she’s not going to use her powers to provide that," said Elizabeth Clifton, an advocate who sits on the Nicole Addimando Community Defense Committee. 

Hochul passed several domestic violence-related bills into law this year and is outspoken about her family's history with domestic violence and advocacy.  

The governor granted 13 clemencies after reviewing hundreds of petitions. 

News 12 reached out to Hochul's office for comment but has not heard back.