Please sign petition to keep violent sex offender in prison
Have something to say? ADD A NEW POST!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to the newsletter or RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I have lived in Idaho Falls for 11 years. Originally, I am from B’ham, Alabama. In 1986 I was kidnapped by three strangers from my home. At the time, I was twenty-one years old. I was raped and beaten, sodomized, then shot in the head and left for dead.
The three men responsible have only served twenty-two years of two concurrent life terms for rape and attempted murder. Each man becomes eligible for parole every three to five years. On January 8, 2009 I must stand before the Alabama Board of Paroles and ask them to deny parole to inmate Munk Willis. It is my belief that this violent sex offender will not be capable of conforming to minimal standards of conduct within a community; and in fact poses a grave risk to society.
I am asking readers to sign a petition of protest (you need only be a citizen of the U.S. for your signature to count) supporting my request to this board. As a political machine, they are influenced by public opinion, so every signature really will matter. The petition is a confidential document; viewed only by myself and the acting board members. Your signature will never be made public.
I am enclosing a link directly to the petition
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/denyparole_munkcaselowwillis/index.html
as well as to my blog
http://www.survivingviolentcrime.blogspot.com/
which talks about the details of my case and my thoughts and experiences as a survivor of crime. Because of the current push to reduce crowding in prisons (a real issue) a large showing of public support for denying this man parole can make a huge difference.
If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at drgnflyz@yahoo.com.
Thank you for signing the petition. We will all be safer for your efforts.
Peace,
Susan Waller-Scherr
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Vote:
3 
0 Wow, Susan, the stories on your blog are something else. You are indeed a survivor …. you did not allow these violent offenders to define your life. And your life is a gift to so many who know you. HUGS!
Vote:
5 0 I, too, signed but haven’t been brave enough to read the blog. Maybe later.
Vote:
8 0 Thank you for your kind words and support. Peace
Vote:
5 0 Come on Idaho Falls Today people. Let’s get behind Susan on this one …. this is a BIG deal! Please sign the petition.
Vote:
6 0 Your courage and determination is admirable!
I was proud to sign your petition. I just hope that there will come a day when you don’t have to go through all this hardship again.
There are simply some offenses that should not require the victims to continually re-live the crime for the rest of their lives like you have been made to do. Munk Willis deserves to spend his life behind bars, period, no arguements.
I made a note in my signing about his age- he is now only 39 or 40, and as a mature man is even more dangerous than he was at 17. If he hasn’t shown any remorse by now, he never will, and is definitely a danger to society if he is ever freed. On the loose, he won’t repeat the same mistakes twice, and will be even more lethal.
Vote:
5 0 I’ve forwarded the letter & request to 30 family and friends, asking that they sign the petition; and that they forward the request to their family and friends.
The most trying of tasks are often times accomplished when one person asks others for help.
Vote:
0 5 Sorry all, but FYI, online petitions aren’t official and are used for polls within such topics. They can not be legally used to change legall outcomes. The only legitimate petitions are the ones you sign with a pen.
Vote:
4 0 Stars,
The petition WILL BE accepted. It will be printed out and sent as hard copies. Everyone, please sign and do not let this deter you.
Vote:
2 5 I am a registered violent sex offender.
My crime? Sunbathing nude with families at my home. There were little kids there too & they were also naked.
Nobody accused me of touching anyone and I plead to a lesser charge.
But because of the ages of the “victims” my classification has been changed to “violent.”
I read what those animals did to you and I really think they should never have another chance at living in the freeworld, but your blanket statement condemning all “violent” sex offenders prevents me from signing your petition. (And I HAVE gotten my rights to vote restored.)
You would be a great spokesperson to change these new, stupid sex offender laws. The truly violent should be punished severely, but those of us who committed no real crimes shouldn’t pay the same price as the scum who brutalized you.
Vote:
8 0 Stars, FYI The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles DOES accept this form of petition as one measure of public opinion. I have been participating in these parole hearings for three defendants, every three to five years for twenty two years. I would not waste my time, or anyone else’s, signing a petition if I did not know for a fact that the document would be considered.
There are many criteria the board uses to make it’s decision about whether an inmate is deserving of parole. Input from the victim, prosecuting attorneys, defendants family, disciplinary history, are just a few others.
As part of a political machine the board is influenced by many factors, including prison overcrowding. In this climate, even violent sex offenders are sometimes considered serious for parole. A strong public outcry, using this new technology, can make a difference.
If you have further questions, do not hesitate to ask.
Vote:
7 0 In regards to comment # 10, my petition again very plainly refers to “this” violent sex offender.
I am aware of numerous factors that lead individuals to these ‘classifications’. I am also painfully aware that many offenders- violent offenders, sex offenders, and otherwise possess the capacity for change. I struggle to reconcile intellect with emotion every time I face one of these hearings. This person has never expressed remorse, or tried to change the fundamental behaviors that got him where he is today. Learning a trade is but a small portion of what I would consider “rehabilitated.”
Thanks to all who participate in this discussion. It is emotional and complex. I appreciate your acts of kindness and support. Peace
Vote:
0 9 They pretty much served their times. Other people get less for real murders. And sex offender laws in the US are extremely stupid and abusive!
Vote:
6 0 I’d like to hear your opinion on this issue after you’ve beenraped and sodomized against your will . Or have your father, priest or family friend sodomize you while growing up between the ages of 7 through 16. I’m willing to bet the laws wouldn’t be extremely stupid or abusive then.
Vote:
4 0 Your story is so horrible. I can’t find the words to say how sorry I am that you had to go through this. I think it is a travesty that you have to keep going through this and reliving it again. I signed your petition and will forward it to others asking them to sign it and forward it on.
Vote:
2 0 Smasher, I can’t find the words to tell you how disgusted I am by your response to a woman who lived through such a horrifying event. Is it typically your m.o. to try and inflict more pain on people who have already been through such a trauma? Did you even read her story and do you have any clue what these animals did to this woman? You truly should be ashamed.
Vote:
4 0 Thanks again to those that send such kind and supportive messages.
Vote:
3 0 I appreciate every signature for the petition and all of your kind words of support. Please do continue to forward on the petition to any one you know until Dec. 26. The petition will then be sent to the Alabama Parole Board. This is a sealed, confidential document that will never be made public.
Vote:
0 2 Good luck with this case, but unfortunately online petitions are rarely admissable in a court of law. It’s up to the judges discretion of course, so maybe he/she will allow it.
Vote:
2 0 Ashley, this “on-line petition” is being managed quite well and most likely will be allowed by the court of law.
Keep those on-line signatures coming in, folks!
You’re helping keep more than one rapist and attempted murderer behind bars.
Vote:
0 4 FYI…as an attorney of law, I do know what I am talking about.
Vote:
4 0 The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles does recognize this form of petition. I spoke directly with the executive director, Cynthia Dillard, as to the requirements and wording of this on-line document. I am sure different states have different requirements. Thanks for your concern about the validity of the document.
Of course this is NOT the only thing the board considers, but as a political machine, they are influenced by public opinion so every signature makes a difference.
Vote:
4 0 As to comment #13
I received a reply to my post stating the reader thought the inmates “had pretty much done their time” and should be released. I would like to reply to this thought.
First of all, Munk Willis has served only 22 years of 2 life terms. He has not served his time as directed by a court of law.
Second, when he was sentenced it was with the “possibility” of parole. This implies something would need to change for him to be considered eligible, other than the passage of time.
Are there changes that have taken place for this man? What might be important in determining how he has ‘changed’ his life for the better?
In twenty-two years there has been nothing. not one letter or note, nor expression of remorse . He has been incarcerated for approximately 8,030 days, or 192,720 hours. This is A LOT of time. Think of the volumes of journals that might have been written during those days and weeks; months and years. He might ponder the impact he has had upon my life. Questioning himself, he might write about how he seeks to live a better life, free from violence and brutality. This opportunity has been there day after day, after day, after day…
Certainly there are a multitude of programs and/or therapies available to the inmate in which he might voluntarily participate. After so many years, I would expect any man really desiring to better himself would have completed MANY. But this man remains an untreated violent offender. He remains an untreated sex offender. Statistically, neither makes a good candidate for release into society. He is both.
So I reject the idea that this man has served enough of his sentence in prison and should be released for no reason other than the passage of time. The same time has passed for me, and I still have to deal with the effects of a gunshot wound to the head. There are other, non violent, non predator, types we should consider. Not Munk Willis.
Please sign the petition to keep this violent sex offender out of our community. We will all be safer for it. Thanks
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/denyparole_munkcaselowwillis/
Vote:
1 0 On Jan 8, 2009 parole was denied to Munk Willis. He will be eligible for parole again in 2012.
http://www.al.com/birminghamnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1231492519227140.xml&coll=2
Vote:
1 0 I am so glad that parole was denied to this animal. Now if they would keep him locked up and ineligible for parole until the year 2100 so that drgnflyz does not have to keep going through this every 3 years.
Leave Your Comment
Our Community's Comment Guidelines:- Please stay polite and on topic.
- Your email will never be published.
- No profanity or euphemisms for profanity.
- No personal attacks, name-calls, put-downs, or baiting other guests, races, genders, or religions.
- Express opinions, facts, logic, and reasoning; just don’t argue for argument’s sake.
- No commercial links (unless absolutely relevant to the discussion) and no religious proselytizing.
- No religious discussions (for or against). Go to http://religion.idahofallstoday.com for religious discussions.
- Use the "I" word as much as possible to demonstrate responsibility.
- Limit yourself to using one name per thread to demonstrate responsibility.
- If you think a comment is inappropriate, ask Joe to review it.
whew, slow day, time to all start commenting again!
Loading ...
Vote:
Happy to sign, Susan. Peace to you!