Today We Honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In King’s 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” he promoted non-violent civil disobedience and urgency in the Civil Rights advancement.  His words are still true today when it comes to ANY injustice.  I like to print his quote at the end of my emails to remind people of the importance to really care about our fellow human beings.

There has been an injustice done to our daughter Morgan.  Morgan was a victim of a felony stalking for 4 months, she was found dead under “suspicious circumstances” (the sheriff’s words – not mine), and her body was taken away for an autopsy.  That same morning her lead felony stalking detective told us her stalker had nothing to do with her death.  He could not have known that at the time so why did he say it?  The coroner’s office took her body away for an autopsy.  While waiting for the results of her autopsy I truly believed the sheriffs were investigating her suspicious death.  I asked what will happen if the autopsy shows she was murdered.  I was told that if that happened another detective would be assigned to the case.  So in the meantime unbeknownst to me there was no investigation into her suspicious death – why?

Then 18 days later the forensic pathologist stated Morgan died a “natural death” – I asked how could that be?  Morgan was an extremely healthy 20 year old…a healthy 20 year old with a predatory stalker that was escalating his presence.  So then at that time the sheriffs said there would be NO investigation into her “suspicious” death BECAUSE the Coroner had decided she died a “natural death.”

For the next 6 – 7 months forensic experts, along with Morgan’s doctors, tried to explain to the forensic pathologist that Morgan did not die a “natural” death.  After reviewing her medical records, the postmortem report, all toxicology results, etc. they said Morgan died from foul play and suggested her case should be investigated.  At that point the forensic pathologist threatened me that he did not want the opinions of any other experts and if he wanted to he could change her “manner of death” to suicide.  Then 8 months after Morgan’s death the forensic pathologist for Garfield County along with the coroner did just that…they changed her manner of death to “suicide.”

Getting angry is fine who wouldn’t be outraged, but how do we really make changes to a system that is broken?

Cases, like Morgan’s, that are swept under the rug are caught in a kind of trap, a trap created because of the cracks in our legal system.  Solving murder cases, when a coroner says the victim died from a natural death, accidental death, or suicide isn’t easy.  In order to obtain justice you have to be your own investigator.  You need to be methodical and spend as much time as you would on a 40 hour per week job.  Unfortunately in some cases like ours the family is the only one left that can put all the evidence together in order to obtain justice…and if justice is not found all that means is that someone has gotten away with murder, and that will always be an injustice, not only to the victims, and the victim’s family, but it is an injustice to all.

Thank you for following Morgan’s story through this blog.  I believe through knowledge and awareness of things that others are experiencing in this world people gain their strength.  I promise you our family has not given up, and never will.  It has been 3 long unimaginable years since Morgan’s suspicious death, and we have continued to gather and document all evidence in order to have her case investigated.  Morgan deserves justice – all victims of violent crime deserve justice.  Some people may not want her case opened…they do not want to visit the skeletons they have hidden in their closets, but soon the truth will come out and justice will be served.

I believe perseverance, as well as sheer tenacity will prevail, they will bring about positive results not only in Morgan’s case, but on so many other levels as well.  Wish us luck – 2015 should be an amazing year to right some wrongs and bring justice to many people!

 

An Extremely Important Tool For Law Enforcement

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Communication with the victims family is one of the most important tools that law enforcement can utilize in order to solve a case.

Many families might not even realize how important they are to the investigation.  They might not even know how much vital information they actually have.

Law enforcement needs to open up and continue communication with the families.  They need to continually go back and ask more questions.  Lots of questions.  These questions can trigger memories of things the family didn’t even realize were important to solving the case.

Community policing is another tool that should be used.  “Community policing is a philosophy of full service personalized policing, where the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems.”—Bertus Ferreira (Bertus, Ferreira. The Use and Effectiveness of Community Policing in a Democracy . Prod. National Institute of Justice. Washington, D.C,, 1996.)

Partnering up with the communities they serve – the police have access to an important tool, especially when it comes to stalking cases.  With the police no longer the sole guardians of law and order, all members of the community become active allies in the effort to enhance the safety and quality of neighborhoods.  Police can’t do it alone.  Partnering up with the community is a positive way to stop stalkers.  https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/commp.pdf

This is an excellent video to listen to about community policing and stalking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8reNGMUIHU

The message needs to get out.  People that violate an order of protection show a course of conduct, and at that point you know that particular stalker is very dangerous.  There are really amazing stalking task forces in some states – it would be wonderful if every county had stalking task forces.  Please keep informed.  Push for community policing in your town.  Stay involved…it may ultimately save someone that you deeply care about.

I want to do everything in my power to raise awareness and help people to become knowledgable in order to keep other victims of stalking, like Morgan, safe as well as other families from going through the same horrors our family has had to endure.  Keep well and keep informed…2015 is going to be a year of many changes.

 

 

 

 

 

Morality…

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I found this on Morgan’s computer…it is so very true.  This world needs people to remember how to be moral.  Do the right thing.  Help others.  Speak up.  Find your purpose in this world and be one of the good ones…it “feels” wonderful, it really does.

January is National Stalking Awareness Month

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Help raise awareness of the seriousness and dangers of stalkers.  Wishing a safe & healthy New Year to all!

Did you know January is Stalking Awareness Month? Visit stalkingawarenessmonth.org for info.

What could you do to recognize National Stalking Awareness Month?

How much do you know about stalking? Take a quiz here: http://bit.ly/NSAM2015

Stalking is a crime & you are not to blame for a stalker’s behavior: http://bit.ly/ForVictims

Have you seen the most recent data from the CDC? View our Stalking Statistics and Data here: http://bit.ly/StalkingStats

What would you say to a friend who told you they were being stalked?  Learn more about stalking this month at http://bit.ly/NSAM2015

Although women are more likely to be stalked than men, anyone can be a victim of stalking. Learn about stalking at http://bit.ly/NSAM2015

Stalking: It’s not a joke. It’s not romantic. It’s not ok. It’s a crime.
Visit stalkingawarenessmonth.org to learn more.

1 in 4 women and 1 in 13 men will be victims of stalking in their lifetime. Visit stalkingawarenessmonth.org for more info.

Individuals identifying as more than one race or American Indian, or Alaska Native experience higher rates of stalking http://bit.ly/NSAM2015

Stalking is a crime in all 50 states, DC, & the territories. Read about your law at victimsofcrime.org/src

On avg. stalking lasts about 2 years; intimate partner stalking lasts longer. Learn the realities of stalking: victimsofcrime.org/src

The National Center for Victims of Crime says, “Stalking is a crime of intimidation and psychological terror that often escalates into violence against its victims. Stalkers can destroy the lives of victims, terrorizing them through a course of conduct that may include monitoring, following, threatening, or harassing victims in a variety of ways. Stalking often has devastating consequences for victims. Many are forced to profoundly alter their lives—going as far as relocating to another state and changing their identities—to protect themselves and their families.”

A leader in responding to stalking The National Center for Victims of Crime has long led the field in enhancing our country’s response to stalking by advocating for key stalking legislation and policy at the federal and state level. In 2000, the National Center estab- lished the Stalking Resource Center to increase public awareness about stalking and help communities across the country develop multidisciplinary responses to this insidious crime. As the only national training and technical assistance center focused solely on stalking, the Stalking Resource Center has provided training to tens of thousands of victim service providers and criminal justice practitioners throughout the United States and has fostered innovations in programs for stalking victims and practitioners who support them.

For more information, please contact: National Center for Victims of Crime 2000 M Street, NW, Suite 480 Washington, DC 20036  202-467-8700 | www.ncvc.org

I know how dangerous stalking is…our beautiful 20 year old daughter Morgan was murdered during an active investigation into her stalking.  My wish is that another daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, aunt, Goddaughter, or friend never loses their life again because of their stalker.  Law enforcement needs better protocols for cases involving stalking including allowing community policing, states need to have strict laws on their books, the judicial system needs to enforce those laws to the maximum degree without accepting a plea to a lesser charge.  No more revolving doors in our system that allows stalkers to continue their reign of terror.  Please talk about the dangers of stalkers with your family and friends and raise the awareness.  Knowledge is power.

2015 Colorado Victims’ Rights Caucus January 15th

Just wanted to forward some important information from COVA about the 2015 Colorado Victims’ Rights Caucus – First meeting is January 15th – Invite your legislators!
COVA is proud to announce the 3rd year of the Colorado Crime Victims’ Rights Caucus, which is sponsored this year by State Representative Rhonda Fields (D) and Representative Polly Lawrence (R). The Colorado Crime Victims’ Rights Caucus hopes to serve as the General Assembly’s subject matter experts in ensuring that the rights of crime victims are appropriately balanced in the consideration of criminal justice policy.
All meetings will be held the 3rd Thursday of the month from 12PM – 1PM at the Capitol. The first meeting will be next week, on January 15th. A flier with all the details can be found here. 

Personal invitations from constituents can be very powerful, so please write your elected officials to ask them to attend. Don’t know how to reach your legislators? Visit openstates.org  to find out!
Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance
1325 S Colorado Blvd, Suite 508 B
Denver, CO 80222