Ohio Mother Needs Our Help: Keep Baby Rapist Behind Bars!

Here is her plea:

In August of 1979 a baby just three months shy of her very first birthday was raped and beaten by a man named Christopher Cooper. Little Monica Williams laid in her hospital bed for five days fighting for her life because her little heart was strong and her mother says she was a fighter for sure. Poor little Monica lost the battle for her life on August 16, 1979.

Monica’s mother, Becky Potter of Findlay, Ohio said, “I need to keep him in prison for this. There is no excuse, no excuse, and as long as I’m able to walk and my jaw is able to flap you will hear from me.”

“She never had a chance to be a cheerleader graduate from high school, or go on to college,” she continued. “It’s very tough. All you have to do is look at the picture and see she was going to be a good girl.”

Becky honestly thinks if this man is set free back into society, everyone will be in danger. The family is saying the best way to stop him from being released on parole would be for everyone they can find to write a letter to the parole board requesting he stay in prison and away from children.

“He’s murdered once an infant,” says Monica’s uncle, Michael Saum. “If you can find an infant worthy of lusting over and the things he’s done to her, there is no excuse in it you can’t rehabilitate someone like that.”
If you want to help the fight to keep this man in prison please send a letter to

Ohio Board of Parole, Office of Victim Services
770 W. Broad St.
Columbus
Ohio 43222

Email:  DRC.Victim.Services@odrc.state.oh.us 

Phone

614-752-1150
Fax

614-752-1171

You are asked to include the convicted killer’s name which is Christopher Cooper as well as his inmate number which is A158707. Each letter counts as one request no matter how many signatures you have on it. They say that all letters need to be signed, dated and include a return address on the envelope by December 1, 2009.

Goodbye Robert Manwill: Say Hello on Halloween Campaign

What a wonderful, positive message~! We need to get to know our neighbors again.....

BOISE - It's been more than two months since 8 year old Robert Manwill was laid to rest. Child advocates are hoping to turn his tragic death into something positive this Halloween.

It's been more than two months since the community said goodbye to Robert. To help keep his memory alive, child advocates are hoping you'll take part in the "Say Hello on Halloween" project.

The concept is simple: Say "hello" to your neighbors on Halloween. Organizers said introduce yourselves to other parents and consider exchanging contact information in case there's an emergency.

"I think it's a great idea," said Allison Evaro, a Treasure Valley mom. "Boise is a great community and it's important for us to know our neighbors."

A coalition of child advocacy groups is sponsoring the event, and getting the word out at family-friendly places like the YMCA.

Roger Sherman, of the Idaho Children's Trust Fund, said "Say Hello on Halloween" is a community building effort.

"How can you support the new mom on the street? How can you support the parents that are going through the teenage blues? We all need that kind of support if we're going to be effective parents," Sherman said.

The Help Find The Missing Act, HR 3695 (Billy's Law)

Image by wallyg via Flickr

No more excuses, no more waiting, the time is NOW to take action to ensure that families with missing persons are taking this seriously. This is the help that so many have been waiting for. Don't make them wait any longer! They deserve a voice and they deserve to have this bill passed into law.


Thank you from all families with missing loved ones and those who care about them.

or, Create a Petition

Change.org

Remember My Name

When you remember my walk upon this earth
Look not into my steps with pity.
When you taste the tears of my journey
Notice how they fill my foot prints
Not my spirit
For that remains with me.

My story must be told
Must remain in conscious memory
So my daughters won’t cry my tears
Or follow my tortured legacy.
Lovin’
is a tricky thing
If it doesn’t come
from a healthy place,
If Lovin’
Doesn’t FIRST practice
on self
it will act like a stray bullet
not caring what it hits

You may say:
Maybe I should’ve loved him a little less
Maybe I should’ve loved me a little more,
Maybe I should’ve not believed he’d never hit me again.
All those maybes will not bring me back – not right his wrong.
My life was not his to take.

As your eyes glance my name
Understand once I breathed
Walked
Loved
just like you.
I wish for all who glance my name
To know love turned fear – kept me there
Loved twisted to fear,
Kept me in a chokehold
Cut off my air
Blurred my vision
I couldn’t see how to break free.

I shoulda, told my family
I shoulda told my friends
I shoulda got that CPO
Before the police let him go
But all those shoulda’s can’t bring me back
when I lied so well
To cover the shame
To hide the signs.

If my death had to show
what love isn’t
If my death had to show
that love shouldn’t hurt
If my death had to make sure
another woman told a friend
instead of holding it in
If my death reminds you
how beautiful
how worthy
you really are
If my death reminds you
to honor all you are
daily
Then remember my name
Shout it
from the center of your soul
Wake me
in my grave
Let ME know
My LIVING was not in vain.

Copyright 1995 Kimberly A. Collins, Washington, D.C., reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Kimberly A. Collins is a mother, writer, poet and English Professor. She is also the founder of S.O.A.R. (So Others Ascend Righteously — http://www.soarllc.com) where she facilitates Writing for Healing workshops and writes an inspirational column “Wednesday Wisdom.” As the first employee for the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence, she put a public face to the Coalition’s effort to inform and empower women, in the D.C. Metropolitan area, around the issue of domestic violence. During her tenure, Ms. Collins’ writing and oratory skills were in demand at various venues during October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities, and other venues including speaking on behalf of the D.C. Coalition about the Nicole Brown Simpson case on NBC Nightly News and during the Telephone Operators Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, where they were in need of an expert to inform their audience about the prevalence and dangers of domestic violence through statistics as well as through Ms. Collins’ poetry.

Ms. Collins’ poems about domestic violence are inspired by the testimonies of women she meets at speaking engagements, the Simpson case, the quilt of women who have and continue to lose their lives at the hands of men, and the women she helps to claim their voice through S.O.A.R.’s Writing for Healing workshops and retreats.

Ms. Collins is also the author of a collection of poetry, Slightly Off Center. Additional writings appear in major anthologies and magazines: Black Poets of the Deep South, In The Tradition, The Nubian Gallery, NOBO Journal of African American Dialogue, Theorizing Black Feminism, Fingernails Across the Chalk Board and in Catalyst, Heart and Soul, and Essence Magazines. She has written a bio on Ola Obesan for The Dictionary of Literary Biography, the volume titled Contemporary Black British Writers.

Thank you, John Quinn, for sharing this with us.

Made Me Laugh

One of the most popular places on Peace4 the Missing is the "Made Me Laugh" thread. While every day we come together sharing our heartaches and looking for support, our members have remembered that sometimes laughter will lift and renew the spirit! Take a look and I promise your day will be brighter for it!

MADE ME LAUGH

"My Prayer" Song For The Missing

Danny Borger’s, son of Ida Dean Richardson-Anderson, who has been missing from Ann Arbor, Michigan since September 1958 has completed a missing person song.

This is a first of its kind song that is about what families go through when they have a missing loved one. Danny who has been searching for his mother for over 51 years knows all too well every phase families go through and how it feels when a case drags out.

Danny is a music producer, singer, song writer, composer, ect from Nashville, TN. He is a professional and music has been his life long career. He has worked with some of our Country's biggest Country Music singers in our history. He also consults for TV shows and for Hollywood. That is only a small portion of his life long resume.

To have someone of Danny's caliber get this involved and make something this huge is a major step in the right direction for missing people. The song will be used to promote and bring awareness to missing people. While Danny is working to have it available for download on I-Tunes, it will be free for families of the missing, advocacy groups, missing person websites, ect. By contacting Chad with TrackMissing. Danny offered to have any funds raised by this song to be donated to TrackMissing for use to search for missing people across the United States.

Since I do not know how to put the song on this site I am hoping Sara or Delilah will have it up on here soon. We do ask that you do not distribute it except to those listed above and make it non-downloadable when putting it on the internet or websites.

Find more music like this on PEACE4 THE MISSING


My Prayer
Music and Lyrics by Danny Borgers

Sometimes at night I sit and watch the moon
And I wonder where it's shining down on you
I wander through my hopes and fears
Search for peace through silent tears
Whisper for a miracle or two (and I say..)

God, I'm not asking for myself
But, if you can spare some angels Lord we sure could use Your help
Somewhere on this Earth is someone that I love
Who needs Your help to make it home from there
Amen ... that's My Prayer

I keep a picture of you right beside the door
Where I long to hear your footsteps on the floor
And I smile .. when I look at you
But, my heart grows heavy too
So I close my eyes and say these words once more

God, I'm not asking for myself
But, if you can spare some angels Lord we sure could use Your help
Somewhere on this Earth is someone that I love
Who needs Your help to make it home from there
Amen ... that's My Prayer

They say that there's a reason why all things are meant to be
I pray God watches over you 'til you are here with me

God, I'm not asking for myself
But, if you can spare some angels Lord we sure could use Your help
Somewhere on this Earth is someone that I love
Who needs Your help to make it home from there
Amen ... that's My Prayer

Copyright 2009 by Dan Borgers Music (ASCAP)


LISTEN TO THE SONG ON THE PEACE4 THE MISSING MUSIC PLAYER

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Duane Bowers: Trauma Therapist on Radio Show Tonight!

Tuesday, September 29 @ 9PM EST, Denny Griffin and I welcome Duane T. Bowers. Duane is a Traumatic Loss Therapist and Educator in private practice, and author of Guiding Your Family Through Loss and Grief, and A Child is Missing: Providing Support for Families of Missing Children.



As an educator, Duane teaches seminars nationally, internationally and regionally on dying, death and grief, as well as trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and traumatic loss. He has served as an Adjunct Professor of Counseling at Trinity College in Washington DC, and has been an invited guest lecturer for graduate and undergraduate classes at the University of Maryland, Howard University, University of the District of Columbia, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University and Gallaudet University.



As a therapist Duane's specialty is working with survivors of traumatic death and suicide, which includes assisting families who must identify loved ones at the DC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, through the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing. He also provides support to families of abducted, missing, exploited and murdered children through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Duane serves as a training consultant to NCMEC, and is deployed by them to provide crisis intervention at Amber Alert sites with Team Adam. He also serves as a consultant and trainer for Team HOPE, a telephone support line for parents of missing children, and has provided services to AMECO (Association of Missing and Exploited Children Organizations).



You can catch the show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/dennisngriffin beginning at 9 pm Eastern.

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