New York Department of Corrections/Twitter
Amy Fisher
The “Long Island Lolita,” Amy Fisher, served seven years in prison for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the head. The story of the crime will be featured on tonight’s episode of ABC’s 20/20.
Amy Fisher was a 17-year-old high school student when she shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the face, and the crime immediately captured the attention of tabloids around the world, which dubbed Fisher the “Long Island Lolita.”
According to Biography.com, Fisher was convicted in December 1992 and was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. She ended up serving seven years in prison at the Albion Correctional Facility in New York.
Fisher has since changed her name in order to look for privacy and has turned down multiple TV appearances.
Fisher Was Sentenced to Up to 15 Years in Prison
“My big, strong, awesome mom is now frailed…it was insanity.” The Buttafuoco family recalls how life changed after that infamous front porch shooting. Tonight, on a 2-hour #ABC2020 at 9/8 on @ABC. https://t.co/ZGewROXCaQ pic.twitter.com/b8RdybEXDR
— 20/20 (@ABC2020) September 4, 2020
When she was just 16 years old, Fisher became involved with Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s husband Joey. Soon after meeting, the two became sexually involved, and Fisher became involved with an escort agency after telling Joey that she needed money.
On May 19, 1992, Fisher shot Mary Jo in the head. She’d pulled up to the home and rung the doorbell. Mary Jo was injured, but she survived the attack and told police what her attacker had been wearing, which aided the investigators in figuring out who shot her.
According to biography.com, Fisher’s family was offered $80,000 for the rights to their story, which they agreed to in order to post Amy’s bail. Fisher was released from prison in 1999 and flew home to her mother, according to The New York Times.
Mary Jo Buttafuoco Forgave Amy Fisher
20/20 TONIGHT: Jessie Buttafuoco shares what you haven’t yet heard. Our exclusive interviews with Joey and Mary Jo – and what do they have to say about Amy Fisher now? WATCH #ABC2020 Tonight at 9|8c on ABC. pic.twitter.com/2IvceUZWsN
— 20/20 (@ABC2020) September 4, 2020
According to Fox News, Mary Jo Buttafuoco chose to forgive Amy Fisher and wanted to tell the public what really happened.
“For a long time… I hated her,” she said. “I hated what she did, I hated that she came to my house, interrupted my life. The audacity of this punk to come and do this.”
She said that she was taking medication to deal with the injuries and had bouts of feeling okay and made sure that her children never saw her when she was angry, though she dealt with addiction because of the drugs she was on for her recovery.
She told the outlet that it was during her time in rehab that she decided she needed to forgive the woman who had shot her in order to let go of all the anger and pain.
“I sobered up and I realized, ‘You’re right… I can’t feel like this anymore… I got to let you go because you’re killing me all over again… It sounds so cliche… it’s just a process that when you have something like this, you have to move forward. To move forward you have to forgive, you have to.”
The New York Times reported that Mary Jo Buttafuoco attended the resentencing hearing for Fisher and plead for the judge to release Fisher from prison.
After the release, Fisher was on probation until February 26, 2003. She underwent periodic drug testing during that time.
Serial Killer Robert Hansen Was Sentenced to 461 Years, Life in Prison
