Lorena, an Ecuadorian immigrant, claimed that her husband John, a bar bouncer and former U.S. Marine, had raped and abused her for years. John was charged with rape later that year but was acquitted and, subsequently, starred in two pornographic films.

In the culmination of a sensational eight-day trial that captivated headlines, on Jan. 22, 1994, a jury found Lorena Bobbitt not guilty by reason of insanity of slicing off her husband John Wayne Bobbitt's penis the summer before. Lorena had been charged with malicious wounding and faced up to 20 years behind bars.

At 49, she still lives in Virginia, with a partner of 20 years and her middle school-aged daughter, and volunteers at shelters for victims of domestic violence. She talked to TIME about how she views her case from the distance of 25 years. You now run the Lorena Gallo Foundation, which focuses on domestic abuse issues.

From Executive Producer Jordan Peele, this four-part docuseries investigates the events of 1993, where Lorena Bobbitt sliced off her husband's penis after years of abuse. John and Lorena Bobbitt's stories exploded into a 24-hour news cycle. She became a national joke, her suffering ignored by the male-dominated press.