Tuesday, February 9, 2010

20 year old father shoots his infant then self (Ohio)

They don't seem to have records look up there, but can see the focus of the family court is not on safety.

http://www2.state.id.us/fourthjudicial/Magistrate-Civil%20Court/Family%20Court/Welcome.htm

ADA COUNTY FAMILY COURT SERVICES

Address:
200 W. Front Street, Room 4106, Boise, ID  83702

Telephone:
(208)287-7600

E-mail:
fcmorsrd@adaweb.net

Business Hours:
Monday through Friday:  8:00 a.m. to noon
                                              1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Mission Statement:

"To enhance and promote well-being for children and families in conflict
and transition through alternatives for peaceful resolution."


Renee Morse
Family Court Services Coordinator

Family Court Services was established in Boise in 1992 in an effort to support the Magistrate Judges of Ada County as well as parties divorcing, modifying their divorce, or establishing custody/parenting arrangements.  Family Court Services coordinates and collaborates with many agencies and individuals including the Idaho State Bar Association, attorneys, mediators, parenting evaluators, drug and alcohol evaluators, domestic violence evaluators, specialized treatment providers, mental health evaluators and counselors.

Family Court Services offers divorce and custody-related information to parents.  The Focus on Children class is aimed to help parents focus on the needs of their children as they go through the divorce, separation, or custody process. Additionally, Focus on Children staff assists parents without legal representation with divorce and custody paperwork, child support calculations, and parenting plans. Co-Parenting education aims to help parents find ways to co-parent after the divorce or separation has taken place.  In addition, Family Court Services provides information about mediation, makes referrals to mediators in the community, and monitors court-ordered mediation.  A master’s level mental health professional is on staff and available to provide education and information to parents regarding developmental needs of children and how such needs may be met in future parenting schedules.

Family Court Services’ staff are knowledgeable about current programs and services available in the community and may be able to direct parents to community resources appropriate to their needs.  Anyone seeking to file for divorce, custody, child support, or a modification of custody or child support can obtain the instructions and court documents free of charge at the Ada County Courthouse or on-line at the Court Assistance Office.

Related Resources:
Idaho State Bar - (208)334-4500 Web Site
Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program -  (208)334-4510  Web Site
Idaho Legal Aid - (208)345-0106 Web Site
Idaho Mediation Association - (208)338-0942  Web Site
Health & Welfare, Child Support Services - Local - (208)334-0750 - Web Site
Out of Area  - 1-800-356-9868

Family Law Judges:

Judge Russell Comstock Judge David Day Judge Cathleen M. Irby Judge Terry McDaniel Judge Carolyn Minder Judge Michael Reardon

Click here to view today's Ada County Civil Court Calendar

Coroner identifies father-son in Meridian murder-suicide

http://www.ktvb. com/home/ Police-Man- kills-baby- then-self- 83886922. html

by Edgar Linares
Idaho's NewsChannel 7

Posted on February 9, 2010 at 8:30 AM

Updated today at 4:58 PM

******

Gallery

See all 6 photos »

Murder-Suicide in Meridian

MERIDIAN -- The Ada County coroner has identified a father and son in an apparent murder-suicide in a home on S. Pelican Way.

Meridian Police say it appears Nicholas Bacon, 20, shot his 9-month old baby boy Bekm Bacon, then took his own life Monday night.

Bacon's estranged wife told police he had made several threats of violence. "Her husband was making suicidal and homicidal threats. And he had their 9-month-old baby with him," said Meridian Police Deputy Chief Tracy Basterrechea.

Officers found the bodies when they responded to his home around 8:30 p.m.

"We were surprised to see the tape out front," said neighbor Frank Lane. "That's what drew our attention."

"My oldest boy looked outside and saw all the cop cars and all the emergency vehicles out in the front of the home," said neighbor John Meyer.
Bacon and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce, investigators said. Bacon had picked up the infant earlier in the day and was supposed to return him later that night. When police arrived at the home they knocked several times and called inside, but there was no answer.
Officers used a security code to enter the home through the garage. They found the bodies on the floor of the living room. A .45-caliber handgun was nearby.

"The child and the male were deceased upon our entry into that residence," Basterrechea said. "I can't tell you the exact time frame, but they were obviously deceased prior to our arrival."
Neighbors say the family had lived in the house for about a month and kept to themselves.

"I'm sorry to hear about it. It's sad to hear something like that is going on in your neighborhood, you know," Lane said.

 

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KS Legislators consider new domestic violence bill (HB 2517)

Note: Cross posted from [blogger angelzfury] Jana's Campaign.

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Legislators consider new domestic violence bill

By Erin Brown

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

http://www.kansan.com/news/2010/feb/09/domestic-violence/

Document
House Bill 2517

Download .PDF

Legislators are reviewing a new House bill to expand the definition of domestic violence and help to better identify offenders early on. The bill is in response to delayed convictions of domestic violence in Kansas.

Representative Pat Colloton, R-Leawood, said the current laws in Kansas don’t catch offenders early enough. In Kansas, domestic violence is defined as battery of a person, she said. The first two times the crime is committed it is a misdemeanor and the third time it is a felony.

“Only three people were convicted of domestic violence as felonies in Kansas last year,” she said. “And you know there is much more domestic violence in Kansas than that.”

Other crimes, such as destruction of property, threats and disorderly conduct, are not classified as domestic violence under the current law, said Colloton, vice-chair for the Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice.

If these offenses were committed within an intimate partner relationship, the new bill, HB 2517, would ask police officers, attorneys and courts to consider them as possible domestic violence crimes. The offender’s record would then receive a domestic violence tag that would remain on the conviction record, showing incidents of domestic violence and providing a better understanding of criminal history, lawmakers said.

Offenders may also be required to attend treatment such as anger management programs.

Colloton said the tags would help catch domestic violence offenders before an incident of battery.

“The sociologists tell us domestic violence gets worse and worse with greater and greater risk,” Colloton said. “We want that criminal history.”

The mother and stepfather of former KU law student Jana Mackey testified in favor of the bill last week. Mackey, 25, was killed by her ex-boyfriend, Adolfo Garcia-Nunez, 46, in 2008. He reportedly choked her, struck her and cut her on the arm with a knife.

Two days after being taken into custody, Garcia-Nunez committed suicide.

Tanner Willbanks, a senior from Hays and former friend of Mackey, said he thought the bill was a good idea.

“Police will be able to watch escalations in the crime much easier,” he said.

Willbanks said he didn’t know whether Mackey would still be alive if a similar bill had been passed earlier, but that education is the best way to prevent domestic violence.

“People need to understand that just because their mom or dad did it, that doesn’t make it right,” he said.

One in four women nationwide have been victims of domestic violence, Willbanks said. And according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, a domestic violence incident occurred in Kansas every 28 minutes and 34 seconds in 2004.

“Pretty much everybody has had it happen to somebody they know,” Willbanks said. “People need to realize that this is not something to stay silent about. People need to talk about it.”

Erin Fletcher, a junior from Leawood, volunteers with Women’s Transitional Care Services. She said education and awareness are important to prevention, and that she supports the efforts of the new bill.

“It’s just awful to see people that have been clearly abused, but the abuser never gets charged with anything,” she said. “They really don’t get enough justice.”

— Edited by Anna Archibald

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Another 20-year-old Father Shot and killed his baby boy and then took his own life.

Coroner identifies father-son in Meridian murder-suicide

http://www.ktvb.com/home/Police-Man-kills-baby-then-self-83886922.html

by Edgar Linares
Idaho's NewsChannel 7

Posted on February 9, 2010 at 8:30 AM

Updated today at 3:00 PM

******

VIEW  MAP

MERIDIAN -- Police are investigating a murder-suicide in a Meridian.

They say it appears a 20-year-old man shot his baby boy and then took his own life.

Police say on Monday the man living at the home on S. Pelican Way made several threats to his estranged wife that he was going to kill himself.

When officers arrived around 8:30 p.m. they found that he already took his life and the life of his infant son.

"We were surprised to the see the tape out front, that's what drew our attention," said neighbor Frank Lane.

"My oldest boy looked out side and seen all the cop cars and all the emergency vehicles out in the front of the home," said neighbor John Meyer.
Police were dispatched to the home after they received a call from the man's wife.  She said her husband was threatening to take his own life. The couple was in the process of getting a divorce.

"Her husband was making suicidal and homicidal threats. And he had their 9-month-old baby with him," said Meridian Police Chief Deputy Tracy Basterrechea.

He had picked up the baby boy earlier in the day and was supposed to return him later that night. When police arrived they knocked several times and called inside, but there was no answer.

Police had a code to the garage and entered. They were told there were no weapons inside. And that's when they found father and son laying on the floor of the living room, next to the bodies was .45-caliber handgun.

"The child and the male were deceased upon our entry into that residence. So had been deceased, I can't tell you the exact time frame. But they were obviously deceased prior to our arrival," said Basterrechea.
Neighbors say they lived in the house for about a month and kept to themselves.

"I'm sorry to hear about it. It's sad to hear something like that is going in your neighborhood, you know," said Lane.

Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg identified the deceased as 20-year-old Nicholas Bacon and 9-month-old Bekm Bacon of Meridian.

Police are investigating their deaths as a murder-suicide.

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Gardener battered his lover to death and dumped her in woodland, court hears

 

Tuesday, February 09, 2010, 11:53

By Lucy Buckland

http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/latestnews/Gardener-battered-lover-death-dumped-woodland-court-hears/article-1818667-detail/article.html

VICTIM: Linda Casey

VICTIM: Linda Casey

lucy.buckland@essnmedia.co.uk

A gardener battered his married lover to death and dumped her body in woodland after discovering she was having another affair, the Old Bailey heard today (Tuesday).

Jealous Peter Ling, 50, repeatedly struck Linda Casey about the head and face with a rock after the couple had sex, jurors heard.

As the 54-year-old mother-of-three, from The Drive, Coulsdon, lay dying in woodland he covered her body with leaves, left her clothes in a neatly folded pile and fled the scene in her car, it was said.

The badly decomposed body of Mrs Casey was found five days later after Ling confessed, the court heard.

Ling, who had been married to his wife Deborah for 23 years, discovered his lover was having a second affair after accessing her e-mail account.

Jurors were told he met Mrs Casey by arrangement on August 8 last year at the Ramblers Rest pub, in Outwood Lane, Chipstead, before they went to the woodland.

Prosecutor John Coffey said. "The attack was obviously a severe one, on its conclusion the defendant covered the body with leaves and left her there despite the fact she appeared still to be alive."

When her body was discovered on August 13 by police search teams, her jaw bone had been smashed and loose teeth were lying around her body.

The court was told Mrs Casey, who worked at the Parkside doctors' surgery, in South Croydon, had kept her two lovers in "ignorance of each other" for several years.

She met Ling when he was her student at horticultural evening classes at the Sutton College of Learning for Adults.

But Mrs Casey, who still lived with her estranged husband, was also seeing a second man called Ian who her daughter said she was "besotted with".

A week before her death Ling confronted her about her affairs during a visit to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) gardens at Wisley and accused her of being heartless.

Mrs Casey was reported missing on the Tuesday after her death when family were unable to contact her.

Bespectacled and grey haired Ling, of Taylor Road, Wallington, denies murder.

The trial continues.

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Catharsis Foundation: Surviving Child Abuse-Recover, Reclaim, Expose & Disclose (SCARRED)

Note: Cross posted from [angelfury Blog.com] Mothers Global Justice Alliance.

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Catharsis Foundation

http://www.catharsisfoundation.org/aboutcatharsisfoundation.html

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War comes home: Waterboarding a 4 yr old

by Let'sGetHonestBlog

Not a Private Matter – Why "Family" "Law" System Hurts Us Al

lhttp://familycourtmatters.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/war-comes-home-waterboarding-a-4-yr-old/

QUIZ:

Do you think it was a MOTHER or a FATHER that did this?

Was there an enabling 2nd woman around at the time?

As I say, there is approximately one a week coming to the press.

How cast iron is your stomach? Because if you can’t stomach what’s happening to this society and why, there may come a time when the blinkers must come off, and concerns worse than foreclosure, or inflation, become paramount in one’s life..

=====

This reference comes from a newspaper via Michael Moore website, and from this site referenced below.  I hope you will take some time to read her comments 9n this case on the Michael Moore site (linked on the title to this article, below).

February 8th, 2010 2:54 PM

U.S. soldier Joshua Tabor waterboards his daughter, 4, because she couldn’t recite alphabet: police

By Brian Kates / New York Daily News

A GI waterboarded his 4-year-old daughter in their suburban Tacoma, Wash., home because she couldn’t recite the alphabet, police reported.

Joshua Tabor, 27, allegedly admitted to police he used the torture technique because his daughter was terrified of water and he was furious she didn’t know her ABCs.

Tabor was arrested Sunday and charged with assault of a child.

Tabor, a soldier at the Lewis-McChord base in Tacoma, Wash., told police he held the little girl’s head backward in a sink of water, Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil told the the local newspaper, the Nisqually Valley News.

Stancil said Tabor had admitted to using this means of punishment three to four times.

Police found the little girl locked in a bathroom with bruises on her back and scratch marks on her neck and throat.

Asked how she got the bruises, the girl is said to have replied, “Daddy did it.”

Police did not release Tabor’s rank or the nature of his military service. His base is home to units that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The girl, who was not identified, had been in Tabor’s court-ordered custody for about a month and a half.

After his arrest, she was placed in the care of Child Protective services, Stancil said. She had moved to Yelm from Montana where she lived with her grandparents. Her mother lives in Kansas.

Cops arrested Tabor after neighborhood residents reported him walking around his neighborhood drunk, wearing a Kevlar Army helmet and threatening to break windows.

Tabor’s girlfriend told police that Tabor has an anger problem and beats his daughter, Stancil said.

Tabor reportedly said his girlfriend helped hold the girl down in the water. She had not been charged.

The couple has a 2-month-old child together, Stancil said

================

============

I’ve been speaking about this sad profit-making practice for few years now. [1], [2], [3] My latest speeches are posted at:
http://www.selfrepresentedfool.org/id79.html

References:

[1] Dr. Sidiakina, N.A. (2010) STOP Family Courts’ Torture And Abuse of Protective Parents And Self-Represented Parties:
http://www.selfrepresentedfool.org/id79.html

[2] Dr. Sidiakina, N.A. (2009) Family Courts’ Reliance on Parental Alienation Syndrome Theory Turns Normal Children Into Mental Retards:
http://www.selfrepresentedfool.org/id79.html

[3] Dr. Sidiakina, N.A. (2009) The Family Courts’ System in California Turns Children into Slaves:
http://www.selfrepresentedfool.org/id79.html

ANYONE want to track that case?  Why did the mother of this 4 year old move to Kansas (or him to Washington)?  When, where and why was this little girl in Montana, with “grandparents.”

For the uninformed, “grandparents” in custody battles, particularly any ones that involved domestic violence or child abuse, or allegations of it, come in TWO brands:

1.  His (in which case, what kind of sense does it make putting a kid in the custody of the parents who raised a man that has been abusive?  Or woman?)

2.  Hers (another factor to consider is that SOME families respond to the breakup of their child’s relationship, or marriage, differently than others.  Some families support their biological (adult) child, others turn on them.  This becomes interesting when one figures that one generation of poor boundaries, and lack of understanding that it’s wrong to hit may produce an adult woman who doesn’t have the greatest boundaries in marriage.  Or, other scenarios may include a young adult child needing so desperately to get away from an abusive (or simply emotionally bloodless/cold) family of origin she mistakes lust for love.  Or doesn’t mistake it, but simply takes the closest apparent exit.

I don’t know about this case.  I’m just providing the links.

Do you (“Gentle readers”) Understand the power of multiplication?  Any good business person, network marketer, or affiliate of any product, should understand the principle.

Well, guess where these incidents are ‘bred’?  The Family Courts ARE the incubators for sure.  They are a hotbed of profit — for some.  Not the four year olds, of course…
LOOK:  A need is a market niche.  If problems were simply solved in the most direct, honest, and sensible way, there goes a business opportunity, and it would have to knock on other doors.

What better constant stream of cash than a SYSTEM which generates problems?  And when people are MANDATED to go through it, basically, unless their marriages are intact (and 1 out of 2, approximately, in the US aren’t), there’s practically No Exit.

We have in this one case, apparently a vet applying Boot Camp procedures (and worse) to a kid.  Thankfully, this one got caught.
Go figure!

Written by familycourtmatters

February 9, 2010 at 10:17 am

Posted in After She Speaks Up - Reporting Domestic Violence and/or Suicide Threats, Cast, Script, Characters, Scenery, Stage Directions, Context of Custody Switch, Domestic Violence vs Family Law, Funding Fathers - literally, Split Personality Court Orders, Where's Mom?

Tagged with waterboarding kids

« “However, in Victorville [family] court…” (Mind-reading by a judge leads to 2 deaths…)

The Hidden Price Tag of Child Support…. »

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Women are Unbelievable! (In Family Courts)

Note: Cross posted from [wp angelzfury] Battered Mothers-A Human Rights Issue.

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Women are Unbelievable!

Accusations of False Allegations Result in Dangerous Consequences

Joan Dawson (joanied40) 

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes”

“Women are unbelievable!” Really. I mean that quite literally. Don’t believe me? I was prepared for that. I will share with you what I have learned over the past three or four years of my research: Women today are not believed in court. This is nothing new, actually. Women’s credibility has always been questioned, historically as well as currently. But today, with the aid of the Internet, the propaganda that fuels this bias can be churned out quickly and efficiently. Public perception can be changed readily. This includes changing the perceptions of the media, policy makers, law makers, and, yes, even judges, impartial as they’re supposed to be.

Domestic Violence Claims

When women allege domestic violence in family court, often, they are not believed. In fact, they may even be punished. In today’s courts where “friendly parent policies” and fathers rights reign, women that allege abuse appear “unfriendly” and unlikely to share parenting responsibilities. Heck, if they’ve been battered, they may even look “unfriendly.” They may have depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress syndrome. Battered women often present poorly, while batterers, on the other hand, may actually appear quite charming. If she seems “unfriendly,” though, the judge may decide to award custody to the parent most likely to share parenting: Often, the batterer.

If she cannot provide sufficient evidence of her abuse, she can be fined, jailed or lose custody for making “false allegations.” Of course, it can be difficult to produce witnesses or evidence of abuse. She may not have reported the abuse to the police before, and, when a woman alleges abuse for the first time in family court, a huge red flag comes up. They think she is a “vindictive liar,” trying to “manipulate the court.” The abuse, however, may have been the factor that pushed her into divorce proceedings. Moreover, separation is a dangerous time for women and it may be the first time the violence had taken place. None of these reasons point to vengeance.

If she alleges abuse and is not believed, she may take matters into her own hands. She may go to jail instead of turning her children over to an abuser. She may flee the state, or even the country to protect her children.

If she takes no action, further abuse or murder may ensue. Just recently, a case of a murder-suicide hit the news. The woman sought a restraining order from THREE different judges. None of them believed her. The result? The father killed their nine-month-old infant and himself.

Now, keep in mind, too, that this is family court we’re talking about. This is where couples with conflict and interpersonal violence come to settle their custody decisions. Most couples (~85%) don’t need family court; they make their parenting plans themselves. Thus, the cases that go to family court often have some kind of conflict, yet there seems to be a reluctance on the part of the family court system to admit this.

Child Abuse Claims

The allegation that women make false child abuse claims out of vengeance circulates widely on the Internet. An overlap exists between domestic violence and child abuse. Many batterers are abusive towards their children (and pets), too. And, just bearing witness to a mother’s abuse causes sufficient harm to children.

However, these days, if women make claims of child abuse in court, they are often countered with claims of parental alienation syndrome (PAS). PAS is the idea that one parent (typically the mother) poisons the mind of the child against the other parent. It has many flaws:

? It was created by Dr. Richard Gardner, considered pro-pedophilia

? It was self published by Dr. Gardner

? The American Psychological Association notes the “lack of data” and raises “concern” about the term

? Dr. Gardner thought “vengeful wives” and “hysterical mothers” were the cause of problematic relationships between fathers and their children

? It is far too simplistic and does not consider other plausible explanations for a relationship breakdown in divorce

? It can be used without any evidence in court

? It masks child abuse (Has the child been abused or has the child been alienated?)

So, the woman claims child abuse and the man counters with PAS (men almost exclusively use PAS). Who does the judge believe?

? Evidence from Harvard shows abusers use PAS and get away with it.

? The Leadership Council on Child Abuse estimates that 58,000 children each year come into unsupervised contact with parents that have physically or sexually abused them.

Research shows around 1-9% of child abuse allegations are deliberately false and somewhat more than that are mistakenly false. Research (see Bala & Schumann) also finds that men actually make more false allegations (the most common allegation being neglect of children) than women in family court. Nonetheless, stereotypes have more branding power than research.

Rape Claims

Last and somewhat unrelated to family court but still pertaining to violence, women who allege rape are often not believed. When I attended a rape crisis training last year, the first thing we were taught was to believe the individual (man or woman) because one of their biggest fears is that they won’t be believed. Indeed, statistics bear this out.

In the US, only 13% of rape charges will end in conviction. (In the UK, it is only 5.7 %.) Rape survivors are aggressively questioned as if they were the assailants. They are generally mistrusted and often judged more by bias than by evidence. If she was married (and the perpetrator was her husband) or drunk, her odds of being believed plummet even further.

In cases of rape, which do have the highest number of false allegations, the rates, depending on who you ask, waver between 3-8%. Yet, we hear more about false accusations of rape than information on how underreported it is. Sympathy has shifted from the abused to the accused.

So, yes, women are unbelievable. I have studied this topic for several years now, seeking evidence of women being “vindictive liars” or “deceptive” or “malicious.” I’ve come upon plenty of anecdotal evidence from angry men. But, I’ve never heard anyone question *their* credibility. Why is it that they are believed when they claim that women falsely accuse them? Does anyone bother to ask: How many men would admit to using violence? Research shows batterers deny their abuse and it’s not until they admit it that, much like an alcoholic, they can change.

I’ve happened upon sites, and there are many, devoted entirely to “beating false allegations” or discrediting women. Most of them are downright misogynist, like this one that proclaims:

"False memory, false sexual abuse claims, vengeance, are all the diseases of women." (www.canlaw.com/rights/fathers.htm )

Even the Innocence Project, an expert in the area of helping innocent prisoners, does not mention intentionally false accusations as a leading cause of wrongful convictions. In contrast, they do list “false confessions” in their top seven list. If women were such vindictive creatures that “falsely imprison innocent men,” you would think the Innocence Project would be on to this, wouldn’t you?

Now, all of this is not meant to say that there are never any false allegations in court. (There are…and they are from both men and women…and they are not as common as they are purported to be.) What I am saying is that women’s credibility is being harmed, with disastrous consequences (for both women and children). We cannot give women justice in courtrooms that are heavily biased against them to begin with.

And, this is not to say that fathers don’t have their own issues with divorce and custody proceedings. Believe me, I have read all about them. Nor is it an opportunity to paint all men as abusive ? they are not. However, family court is handling allegations of abuse unjustly and this should be a concern to both men and women alike. None of us want to see children come into contact with a parent that physically or sexually abused them. And, nobody wants to see a parent punished for making a good faith accusation in order to protect their children.

All allegations of abuse should be taken seriously. They should be documented, investigated and given weight in court. And, even without the sufficient evidence, individuals who report in good faith should not be punished for failing to provide enough witnesses or evidence. Punishment deters reporting. This has horrific consequences for our justice system and the nation’s public health.

The majority of women are not intentionally fabricating stories to harm men. I have yet to see evidence of this. On the contrary, I have read research that states the majority of claims can be substantiated. And, moreover, I’ve heard from women themselves who’ve been abused and not believed. Women who have not only been battered but who have also been fined, jailed or denied custody. I’ve heard from women, who, like myself, don’t even bother to report rape. These women can be any one of us. Martin Luther King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The injustice of this unfair stereotype that women are unbelievable is an injustice to us all and can thwart any woman’s pursuit of justice in the courtroom today. Yes, women are unbelievable, but it should be for the many accomplishments and positive traits they possess!

For further information:

www.stopfamilyviolence.org

www.leadershipcouncil.org

www.innocenceproject.org

The Stephen Garcia case: http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/order-17122-bid-rejected.html

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Note: Cross posted from [wp angelzfury] Battered Mothers-A Human Rights Issue.

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