Woman
Warrior – an Afghanistan Veteran – Fights for Justice for ALL Women in the USA
By Lynn Hardy
Mark Jernigan, the only DA in Roscommon County, Michigan,
told Kelly Lowe, "No jury will convict this man of rape when you (Kelly)
left your husband and two boys at home to go out drinking with your
sister."
Kelly asked, "Are you saying that if a married woman
goes out and gets drunk without her husband that she deserves to be
raped."
The prosecuting attorney chuckled and said nothing.
Despite the compelling evidence, Kelly is refused a trial:
·
Rape
Kit verifies assault
·
Blood
on clothes because Kelly punched him in the nose
·
Eye
witnesses who came running when they heard Kelly yell and saw the rapists
running from the room with a bloody nose
·
The
rapists confesses as the police record the conversation
·
The
Lieutenant of the reporting officer asks the DA to prosecute
Can this really be happening in the Twenty First Century
in one of the most progressive countries in the world? This is the time people
have dreamed of for centuries: It is 2015, yet this injustice continues.
This is Kelly’s
story:
In 2014 Kelly and her sister gathered at their mom's house
for the first time in many years. On Dec. 26:
- The kids were all tucked in bed
- The bags were all packed
Kelly and her husband had been fighting during week. Her
sister suggested they go out for a girls night and get a few drinks. This upset
Kelly's husband and they had an argument.
Kelly and her sister went out... Kelly got really
hammered. Not wanting to witness another argument, her sister insisted on going
to the house of some guys she knew from high school. Kelly puked on the front
lawn. Her sister helped her into the only bedroom downstairs where she helped
Kelly puke in a bowl. Other people were in the living room as Kelly was passed
out cold in a bedroom while her sister went upstairs with a boyfriend.
Kelly woke with a guy on top of her and inside her. She
screamed and punched him in the nose. The guy got off and said, "I think
you broke my nose," and ran out of the room.
Her sister and the other owner of the house heard Kelly
yelling came running downstairs. They saw the rapists running from the room
with a bloody nose.
A rape report was filed and a rape kit confirmed the
attack along with the eye witnesses who saw the assailant fleeing the room with
a bloody nose. Blood on Kelly’s clothes provided DNA evidence identifying the
attacker. The police have a phone call recorded with the rapist admitting to his
crime.
Mark Jernigan, the prosecuting attorney in Roscommon
County, Michigan, told Kelly in a phone conversation that they were not
prosecuting because, "No jury will convict this man of rape when you left
your husband and two boys at home to go out drinking with your sister."
Kelly asked, "Are you saying that if a married woman
goes out and gets drunk without her husband that she deserves to be
raped."
The prosecuting attorney chuckled and said nothing.
Kelly pursued this with the State Attorney General who
said, "The prosecuting attorney is just making a strategic opinion."
"That's not justice," Kelly said.
The State Attorney General replied, "That's your
opinion."
“I would hate for the press to get a hold of this story…”
Kelly said.
“Go right ahead,” said the State Attorney General,
sounding cocky as hell.
~~~~~
~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
When discussing her attack with me, Kelly Lowe said, “I
proudly served in Afghanistan because I believed in this country. To come home
and be told that my case wasn't going to be prosecuted because 'no jury would
side with a woman who leaves her husband and son to go drink with her sister,'
was more devastating than the actual rape itself. They were saying that because
I was a wife and mother who had drinks with her sister, I deserved to be raped,
and I didn't deserve a trial or justice. The man who raped me walks away free.”
Kelly also said, “Going through a rape kit and detailing
the events to police men was one of the most humiliating things I've had to do
in my life.” True to her fighting spirit, Kelly is willing to tell her story in
public as she fights for justice for all women!
Surely there was something we can do to help Kelly fight
this battle. I have added my voice to hers in the only way I knew how: I
created a Facebook Event as a rallying point with the hope of gathering enough
support that the media will pick up the story.
Will you join the fight for a
trail for Kelly?
Click
Here to find the “Hold HIM
Accountable” event on Facebook.
~~~~~
About Lynn Hardy
I am a #1
Amazon Kindle Bestselling author for my fantasy romance series, Prophecy of
the Flame. Last year, I was led to write a
nonfiction book, Angels Believe in You.
At lunch
the day after I started the Facebook event, my husband asked why I was willing
to put so much effort into something like this. At first I insisted that it was
because it was the right thing to do.
Moments
later as we continued discussing this, it hit me like a ton of bricks: I was a
victim of DATE RAPE - it is how I lost my virginity. It is the darkest part of
my journey illustrated in the book Angels
Believe in You. I didn’t want to start the book
out that way, but I was led to add it after I had already completed most of the
manuscript. If I hadn’t written about it so recently, I may not have connected
the two events.
After
hearing Kelly’s story and talking with her, all I knew was that somewhere deep
inside a strong urging compelled me to do all that I could to help get justice
for Kelly - Thanks to the questioning of my husband, now I know where that came
from. Not only because it is right, but for VICTORY for EVERY WOMAN who has
been raped and who didn't get justice.
I hope you
will join with us: Together we can shine a light helping women across this
nation!
Facebook
event: https://www.facebook.com/events/359058110958195
