Lately, tragedy has blanketed so many lives as screens are relaying coverage and alerts of yet another life lost at the hands of violence. These acts of violence are becoming an epidemic that has been growing with each passing year.
Ohio has not gone unscathed by the sorrow that consumes many communities as loved ones gather to mourn the loss of a beautiful soul, saying goodbye to a life taken from us so soon.
It is these goodbyes that are the underlining determination of insuring change in the Ohio area — change that one woman has already begun.
Paula Walters, who resides in the Ohio area, has spoken out against violence and now is petitioning.
Walters is founder and president of Standing Courageous, a nonprofit whose mission is to not only educate and raise awareness of interpersonal violence but to offer support in providing assistance and healing to victims of such violence. As a nine-year domestic violence survivor herself, Walters tells 13abc in a sit down interview that she feels that “she needs to be a voice for all these people who can no longer speak for themselves.”
A voice she is vocalizing through “Support the Start of a Violent Offender Registry in Ohio,” an online petition that was created via change.org. This petition aims to protect potential victims against violence of repeated offenders. On Standing Courageous' website, the link to the petition is accompanied by a statement released by Standing Courageous explaining that a victim can be anyone, asking others to read the petition and consider signing in support:
“Standing Courageous, INC. has put together a petition in order to gain support on a bill we are working on. Please take a look at the following petition and consider signing it. Too many men and women are falling into the hands of violent offenders. Our number one priority is to help prevent this by creating a violent offender registry. Violent offenders do not pick on just men or women, rich or poor, black or white, young or old to make their next victim. This is something that we the people, as a whole people, need to come together and fight for.”
"A lot of times, offenders will go do time in jail and get out and reoffend," Walters told 13abc. She says that the registry will change that. "People will have public access to the people that surround them, people that they are dating, people that are on their streets, their neighborhoods, or in their work employment."
"Support the Start of a Violent Offender Registry in Ohio," which is petitioning State Representative, Robert McColley, State Senators, Edna Brown and Cliff Hite, along with the Ohio State House, reads:
Ohio is in desperate need of a violent offender registry. Many violent offenders reoffend, and we the people have a right to be informed about those who are habitually dangerous to others. In Northwest Ohio alone, we have several cases where violent offenders went on to either kill or critically harm their next unknowing victim. Kristine Keiser, shot four times by ex-husband who had history of doing the same to a previous girlfriend. Currently, Northwest Ohio is dealing with the tragic loss of a beautiful angel at the hands of a man with a criminal past that could have been avoided had Ohio had a violent offender registry. Ohio needs a violent offender registry so that people have a place to search and protect themselves from those who repeatedly harm others.
Kristine Keiser, a mother of two, a sister, a daughter, a friend and now a survivor. Keiser's sister, Kelly, shared Kristine's story with Standing Courageous in an essay, titled, "Outside Looking In (a family member's perspective)." Kelly relays how she was effected by the separation in which she was not able to see her sister for eight years and everything that happened afterwards when they reconnected including their fight to normalcy and safety. Kelly shares that her sister suffered from domestic abuse at the hands of her then-husband, resulting in a finalized divorce in June 2015.
All was good until March 23, 2016. While picking up promised items for her children from her ex-husband, Keiser was shot six times, four of which hit her. After eight long days, Kristine Keiser was discharged to finally go home with the promise of a full recovery. Keiser was unaware at the time that the man she married "had been in jail for stalking and shooting at one of his former girlfriends."
"I could not be more proud of who she has become. The strength and courage that my sister displays is immeasurable," Kelly writes of her sister. "My sister is not a victim of domestic violence she is a Survivor. She is Standing Courageous so that others may stand with her and know that there is a way out."
#KeiserStrong has since then been used to help raise awareness and support.
The beautiful angel in which the petition refers to is Sierah Joughin, 20, a student at the University of Toledo who went missing on July 19 while out on a bike ride in the Fulton County area. Three days later, it was announced that Joughin was found not far from the area in which she was abducted. A suspect has been arrested and charged in her abduction and death and is awaiting a court hearing, which is schedule to be Aug. 18 at 1 p.m. However, this is not the suspect's first trial for abduction, which dates back to 1990. The sheriff's department is considering him to fit the profile of a serial offender.
Remembered for having such a head on her shoulders and such a drive for success, the community is coming together in honor of Sierah's memory. A memorial scholarship fund has been developed as well as events to raise money for the fund adopting the slogan "Cycle4Ce."
Many believe that if something was implemented similar to the registry earlier, these cases could very well not have happened.
Many supporters are leaving comments as to why they are signing. For Sierah, for personal experiences, for their own loved ones, for the safety of others — all embodying the fight for change, so that sorrow and loss can be avoided.
Several states already have a violent offender registry implemented including Kansas, Indiana, Oklahoma and Montana.
According to the Toledo Blade, Senators Randy Gardner and Cliff Hite and county prosecutors and sheriffs and the Ohio Attorney General's Office have been in contact discussing such a program.
As of Aug. 10, "Support the Start of a Violent Offender Registry in Ohio" has 12,981 supporters.
For further information in regards of domestic violence and abuse or if needing help or services, please look into the following organizations:
National Hotline:
The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1.800.799.7233)
Hotlines and services in the Ohio area:
Ohio Domestic Violence Network (800.934.9840)
YWCA (419.241.7386)