BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In June 2019, a judge sentenced then 47-year-old Vivian Rodriguez, of Cheektowaga, to nine years in state prison for the attempted murder of her boyfriend and tampering with physical evidence.

According to the Erie County District Attorney's Office, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to allowing a co-conspirator into her boyfriend's home who then tried to kill him with a machete and was killed himself in the struggle. However, attorneys with the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo say there is more to the story.

"When we moved for DVSJA (Domestic Violence Survivor Justice Act) release, we asked the judge to consider the impact that domestic violence had on what happened in Ms. Rodriguez's case," staff attorney Abby Whipple said.

Attorneys said they can't provide the exact abuse Rodriguez endured from her boyfriend because it is very private, however, they say it was "severe, persistent, ongoing, and a significant contributing factor to what happened." After a hearing, a judge agreed and is granting her sentencing relief Friday morning.

"At that time (she was originally sentenced), she did not have the opportunity to present as much as evidence as we were able to in her case now," staff attorney Kerry Conner said.

The New York Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act went into effect on Aug. 12, 2019, allowing attorneys to ask courts to consider the impact of abuse against a defendant when sentencing and created a pathway for re-sentencing offenses that happened prior to that date. According to information compiled by the Survivors Justice Project, the courts have granted 64 people retroactive sentence relief and denied 71 others resentencing in the last five years.

"As we measure success, 64 people coming home, being reunited with their families, with their kids, opportunities to spend holidays and birthdays with them, that is a very big success," Survivors Justice Project Legal Fellow Clarissa Gonzalez said.

Gonzales said the majority of the cases the courts have granted resentencing involve homicide and the majority of the defendants are women. While in Rodriguez's case attorneys showed evidence of domestic violence perpetrated by the complainant, Gonzales said in roughly half the cases where relief has been granted, there have been third-party abusers.

"What this law requires the court to do is to understand and really give a thorough understanding as to how trauma can affect people and how trauma lives in people's bodies," she said.

The Legal Aid Bureau expects the judge will re-sentence their client to five years of incarceration of which she has nearly already served.

"Courts are really still grappling with it and learning how to apply it," Whipple said. "I can tell you that Ms. Rodriguez is the perfect candidate for this type of statute so we're really happy for her and excited about the impact this will have on her."

Other states have considered following New York's lead in considering domestic violence in sentencing. The governor of Oklahoma signed the state's own verision this week.

In New York, advocates are urging lawmakers to consider opening up the statute to allow courts to consider it for more types of crimes and consider a broader spectrum of potential abusers.