I'll Rise Up!
"And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again."
~ Rise Up lyrics by Andra Day
On Thursday, Jan. 7th, I received a telephone call from Becky at the Stark Co. Prosecutor's office to inform me that William Slabaugh was scheduled for release on May 15, 2016. I asked where he would be living and whether or not a civil protection order would be in place. After Becky did some checking she told me that I would need to file a request for a restraining order and should get it done in March so that it would be done before Bill was released or it would require appearing in court most likely with Bill present to process order. Becky also recommended calling Kerry, the NE Ohio Victim Services representative as soon as possible for more information about his release.
On Friday, Jan. 8th, at 9:15am I left a message for Kerry. It was then that I decided to check the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections inmate search website. You can count on one hand the amount of times I have gone to that website since he was sentenced because I hate seeing his mug shot. I hate looking into the cold dead eyes that stare out of the computer monitor. Just seeing him makes my pulse race and makes it difficult to breathe. I was surprised to see a new photo looking out at me. He looks a little older, his glasses are lined bifocals (something that he would've never tolerated in the past) but still his hair is dark and, as always, not a hair out of place. As I quickly scanned the page my eyes stopped abruptly on the Release Date: 12/30/15! I was so stunned that I kept reading and re-reading that date thinking I must've misunderstood it but no matter how many times I looked at it, the date remained the same. Bill was already released and no one called to inform me that he was out! While I was in the hospital, I received a pamphlet for VINE (Victim Information Notification Everyday)- it is the statewide notification system for victims of crime. I registered as soon as I was out of the hospital and was assured that I would ALWAYS be notified if Bill was released or even moved from one facility to another. It didn't take long for me to experience the breakdown in the supposed infallible system. I learned that he was moved from a high security prison to a minimum security institution by reading the return address on the envelope when he was filing a motion to court regarding spousal support that he deemed was overpaid. Over these 11+ years I have registered with VINE multiple times, by mail, email and 3 years ago (when he filed a motion to commute his sentence.) Every time I have been notified of anything, it was actually Stark Co. Prosecutor's office that has called to inform me of what they know (for which I'm grateful because that's how I know what questions to pursue) but they never have the whole story. Carol, from Victims Services in Columbus registered me more than once 3 years ago until she said she could confirm that I was definitely registered so that I would be contacted before his release. sigh.
I spent 6 hours and many phone calls to multiple people (all gracious and shocked that William Slabaugh could've been released without me being notified.) I talked to the county Victims Service rep. (3 times), the state Victims Service rep. (3 times), Bill's parole officer, the warden's office in Richland Correctional Institution trying to find out where is Bill?!? Time and time again, I was told, "We don't know where he is right now." At 3:15pm, I got a return call from the state Victims Service rep. and was informed that Bill was released for Transitional Corrections (a half-way house) in Canton where he would reside until Jan. 29, 2016 when he will be eligible and most likely have an electronic monitor applied until May 15, 2016 when he is "officially released" on parole.
I spent the next 2 days, trying to find my footing. Allowing myself to be angry, afraid, teary and any other emotion that needed to be felt at that time. On Sunday, Bob and I watched an episode of American Idol that we had recorded. Near the end, Melanie Tierce walked in with her acoustic guitar and her piercing blue eyes and began to sing...
"You're broken down and tired
Of living life on a merry-go-round
And you can't find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
And move mountains...
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up
High like the waves
I'll rise up
In spite of the ache
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again...
When the silence isn't quiet
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we'll take the world to it's feet
And move mountains
Bring it to it's feet
And move mountains
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again...
All we need, all we need is hope...
I sobbed, literally, as I felt my Self rise up and I knew that I will rise up a thousand times again.
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again."
~ Rise Up lyrics by Andra Day
On Thursday, Jan. 7th, I received a telephone call from Becky at the Stark Co. Prosecutor's office to inform me that William Slabaugh was scheduled for release on May 15, 2016. I asked where he would be living and whether or not a civil protection order would be in place. After Becky did some checking she told me that I would need to file a request for a restraining order and should get it done in March so that it would be done before Bill was released or it would require appearing in court most likely with Bill present to process order. Becky also recommended calling Kerry, the NE Ohio Victim Services representative as soon as possible for more information about his release.
On Friday, Jan. 8th, at 9:15am I left a message for Kerry. It was then that I decided to check the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections inmate search website. You can count on one hand the amount of times I have gone to that website since he was sentenced because I hate seeing his mug shot. I hate looking into the cold dead eyes that stare out of the computer monitor. Just seeing him makes my pulse race and makes it difficult to breathe. I was surprised to see a new photo looking out at me. He looks a little older, his glasses are lined bifocals (something that he would've never tolerated in the past) but still his hair is dark and, as always, not a hair out of place. As I quickly scanned the page my eyes stopped abruptly on the Release Date: 12/30/15! I was so stunned that I kept reading and re-reading that date thinking I must've misunderstood it but no matter how many times I looked at it, the date remained the same. Bill was already released and no one called to inform me that he was out! While I was in the hospital, I received a pamphlet for VINE (Victim Information Notification Everyday)- it is the statewide notification system for victims of crime. I registered as soon as I was out of the hospital and was assured that I would ALWAYS be notified if Bill was released or even moved from one facility to another. It didn't take long for me to experience the breakdown in the supposed infallible system. I learned that he was moved from a high security prison to a minimum security institution by reading the return address on the envelope when he was filing a motion to court regarding spousal support that he deemed was overpaid. Over these 11+ years I have registered with VINE multiple times, by mail, email and 3 years ago (when he filed a motion to commute his sentence.) Every time I have been notified of anything, it was actually Stark Co. Prosecutor's office that has called to inform me of what they know (for which I'm grateful because that's how I know what questions to pursue) but they never have the whole story. Carol, from Victims Services in Columbus registered me more than once 3 years ago until she said she could confirm that I was definitely registered so that I would be contacted before his release. sigh.
I spent 6 hours and many phone calls to multiple people (all gracious and shocked that William Slabaugh could've been released without me being notified.) I talked to the county Victims Service rep. (3 times), the state Victims Service rep. (3 times), Bill's parole officer, the warden's office in Richland Correctional Institution trying to find out where is Bill?!? Time and time again, I was told, "We don't know where he is right now." At 3:15pm, I got a return call from the state Victims Service rep. and was informed that Bill was released for Transitional Corrections (a half-way house) in Canton where he would reside until Jan. 29, 2016 when he will be eligible and most likely have an electronic monitor applied until May 15, 2016 when he is "officially released" on parole.
I spent the next 2 days, trying to find my footing. Allowing myself to be angry, afraid, teary and any other emotion that needed to be felt at that time. On Sunday, Bob and I watched an episode of American Idol that we had recorded. Near the end, Melanie Tierce walked in with her acoustic guitar and her piercing blue eyes and began to sing...
"You're broken down and tired
Of living life on a merry-go-round
And you can't find the fighter
But I see it in you so we gonna walk it out
And move mountains...
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again
And I'll rise up
High like the waves
I'll rise up
In spite of the ache
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again...
When the silence isn't quiet
And it feels like it's getting hard to breathe
And I know you feel like dying
But I promise we'll take the world to it's feet
And move mountains
Bring it to it's feet
And move mountains
And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again...
All we need, all we need is hope...
I sobbed, literally, as I felt my Self rise up and I knew that I will rise up a thousand times again.
posted by Becky Spellman Waltz at 3:17 AM
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