Justified in The Way you Make Me Bruise
An Oklahoma Sheriff Refuses to Protect the Victims
*This is a guest article, written by An Oklahoma Domestic Violence Survivor. This is her story. In her own words, published with her permission. Edits for formatting only*
Transparency of the Domino Effect for Domestic Violence Victims
As October rushes to an end, the awareness campaigns, purple ribbons and shirts, and televised events will be replaced with the next group of advocates and voices to speak.
With each and every cause throughout the year, one after another, everywhere you look there is desperation and there is hope. Finding what touches one’s heart and soul is just an engine search away, or a personal tragic event within our own lives or someone close to us.
We become reliable on information given by those who hold authority or extensive knowledge, to educate and advocate. This creates a trusting methodology that is designed to prevent chaos, maintain structure, and give reassurance to our hope. However, without the transparency of anything we give power to, creation of a thin line between power and control becomes one drawn we can’t cross.
“The Domino Effect”
A majority of us have seen or heard of, “ The Domino Effect.” The mechanical causation is defined by an analogy of standing dominos up into a line and showing the result of the first domino’s fall leading to the next and the next and so forth. A cause of an action will become the effect of the next action and so forth. When applying this metaphor to humans, we recognize it quite frequently in modern day with the assistance of social media. Even so, with all the voices speaking up, sharing information and allowing a chance of transparency, dominos continue to fall. When a domestic violence victim is experiencing abuse, those dominos fall everyday. There is no structure, or predictability and circumstances feel as if they are moving at a rapid pace. Seeing as a victim has been forced into a certain degree of codependency, there is a level of trust given to those who are supposed to help them escape, at the most distrusting time in their life. The need for survival is a priority. Whether it is their own survival, or the ones they protect.
So what happens to victims when they become dominos in a game of Chess?
The answer is quite simple. The score is a small state becoming number one in the nation for domestic violence, contributing to the third leading cause of death for Native women, and the next generation is left with our debt. Oklahoma has increasingly climbed in numbers for Domestic Violence over the last decade and chaos has become inevitable. The grants are still being given, the information and educational materials are still available, and the problem is still apparent. The number that didn’t rise with the increasing number of reports of violence, is the number of arrests. This means the number of domestic abuse calls is likely to increase. If a victim's abuser is facing no repercussions for their own actions, the victim loses, the abuser loses, and the generations to come are already defeated. Nevertheless, if a victim is somehow a part of that 2 percent (1000 out of over 43000)that has a positive experience with law enforcement, the fight doesn’t stop there. The media and pamphlets have phone numbers of resources available, shelters for temporary housing, Marsy’s Law so that a victim has rights, but navigating all the things a victim never wished to be a part of has just been handed to them without the fine details.
A majority of the National Hotline numbers a victim is given, are considered referral or resource lines.
They are designed to give a victim another list of phone numbers to resources more locally within the State, County, or Territory. The resources you are given to use for legal matters are also resource organizations. What does this mean for a victim? The answers given to victims are similar to one another with the almost pretextual response of, “ We are sorry to hear you are going through a difficult time, our organization does not help victims directly, rather we are a resource organization that gives victims contacts that may be able to assist them.” I found this to be a recurring response of a majority of the resources given and even the ones that were given for victims. With no exaggeration, I can honestly say a significantly large number of my real life issues with domestic violence were unable to be addressed.
Over 5,000 points of contact
I have made over five thousand points of contact by phone, email, letters, and in person seeking help with my situation over the last 4 years and I can count possibly 20 that I genuinely felt like didn’t just pass me on to the next person. Four years that I did not want to be a victim and yet was revictimized every single time I had to tell my story. Four years of my life turned from turmoil to survival, paranoia to hypervigilance, a layman of the law to knowing statutes, policies, and case law by heart. I had to leave my home, and stay away from my familiarity to keep my son and I safe.
This Time There Would Be an Audio Recording
Ultimately, I would have to leave my new home in a new state after my abuser found an opportunity to assault me in front of my son again but this time there would be an audio recording. The audio has an impact so chilling on me every time I hear it. The first contact from his hand to my face would be followed by the loud scream and cries of my son in the backseat begging for someone to unbuckle him. Shortly after, my words are garbled as I tell my abuser to “let go of my throat”, and then repeat it once more as he finally begins to release the grip he had on me. The whole time, he is reminding me how he can potentially hurt me under his breath angrily, but also while saying loudly enough for others listening that he didn’t hit me.
The orchestra of a manipulator, an abusive person, has a gift of art that allows them to paint any scenario to their favor, including mine. In an effort to protect my son and myself, I would have to find a safe place we could go that was off the grid. No traceable address, no social interaction, and no trust in the judicial system or legal system.
My son and I would spend two years making our home in the National Forest of Northern California with our station wagon and a tent. We avoided campgrounds, adapted to the lifestyle of nightfall coming early, and conservation of resources. We respected nature and for the most part it respected us, although we did have a large bear intrude our tent around 4 a.m. that would destroy the walls, the air mattress, among other things. The sun rises were beautiful and peaceful, and I found serenity for a short lived moment before diving into what needed to be accomplished that day.
California and Oklahoma
I studied law books, I wrote letters, and I made a list of contacts that I could write when I would head back to civilization for propane, food, and other necessities. I had asked for a protective order in two states and neither were granted. I filed for emergency custody, had my abuser served the court documents, he failed to appear for the hearing and my case was dismissed on error of the law, to which I could not appeal. I began to understand the way the laws work in the State of California and realized I needed to understand the same for Oklahoma. The two differ significantly. In more ways than one.
California is what’s considered a PL-280 state. This greatly limited Federal jurisdiction and greatly expanded State jurisdiction specifically within the Indian reservations of California. Whereas, in the midst of all the laws I was attempting to learn about jurisdictional boundaries, venues, etc… Mcgirt surfaced. The complexity of things would increase. In addition to Oklahoma’s State Law, I would self educate Tribal Law, Federal Law, Interstate Law, California Law, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
If that weren’t enough, I would have to dig deeper into county policies and regulations that surrounded my case. How does having knowledge of the laws benefit you as a victim? Thousands. In contrast, it can also develop a level of frustration because even with the knowledge, without a degree to voice that knowledge, you find yourself being ignored and overlooked. So what remedy can a victim seek and utilize if the resources given aren’t able to help victims directly? If there was an easy answer, I would share it happily just to save a victim from the exhaustion of feeling passed around.
There are No Easy Answers or Paths for a Victim of Domestic Violence.
Every turn in the path of rediscovering yourself is met by another roadblock, or detour that influences a victim to think the life prior to escaping wasn’t as hard as this constant battle they have to fight daily.
As a victim of crime, you naturally feel violated. Your independence, your thoughts, your future. Luckily, crime victims have a remedy when they feel the trial court is also violating their rights during the whole prosecution process, or do they?
Marsy’s Law
Oklahoma passed Marsy’s Law with the hopes to give victims a voice, which has mixed feelings from a political stand, with opinions anywhere from the negative financial impact it has, to the interfering with the rights of the defendant which are constitutionally fundamental. With the logistics and the “what if’s” crowding the minds of those who don’t approve, the most important factor that is easily dismissed is, nothing about the situation is logical. Although there is a distinct line that separates a court of law and what we find as Justice served, we all hope that two would run parallel at the very least. It is definitely not the reality.
Reality is hard enough for victims of crimes to understand, and their families, you learn that it is even harder for the rest of the world to believe or at least those who have never experienced the same level of injustice. Add corrupt law enforcement, and federal agents into the equation and suddenly no one wants to help represent you in a case, you sound unstable and paranoid, and the complexity of jurisdictional boundaries leave you completely without protection.
The value of your life and even a child's life deplete if it is at the cost of political reputations. This is usually when the reader stops reading as well. Perhaps, as mentioned before, the reality of the situation is entirely too much. Perhaps, it is too difficult to put into perspective when I say, this epidemic happening in Oklahoma is creeping into their lives.
The Statistics are No Secret.
Revealing that Oklahoma ranks number one in the nation for Domestic Abuse. With the population steadily increasing, there are expectations to a rise in numbers, but the domestic violence epidemic has been rising in Oklahoma for the last decade. While the statistics may not be a secret, the lives of those closest to us may be. When you live in the forest alone, without cellular service, internet, or social interaction, you learn a method of trying to keep up with the modern day news.
My own personal experience was using sources that had validity. I kept a spiral notebook of pages divided into categories that I would add to as I read the material from the last visit. Categories such as, “ California Statutes, County Policies, Oklahoma State Constitution Statutes for Domestic Violence, Law Enforcement, Federal Constitutional Laws, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, Indian Child Welfare Act, Interstate Domestic Violence Law, and VAWA. That was the very least of the laws that I read every word of. I would highlight any codes that were referred to, any case law cited, and any other sources that may be cited, and create a stack of material that I would then use to refer back to when I brought in the new material. Any material I fully comprehended, or had the information to already in hand, or wasn’t highlighted would keep my fire going as I would read at night since that was when it was quietest.
I soon learned, not only were the laws being broken, a majority of them weren’t even known by the ones who enforce them. Knowledge is a foundation to success, so they say. I am not necessarily disagreeing, but the analogy of, “red pill, blue pill”, or “ down the rabbit hole” became real life. There was one piece of information that was vital in the material I was reading, and very common with annual reports, formation of committees, implication of task forces and so on. Names. Email addresses, phone numbers, and websites that are created by families of victims trying to make a difference. I saw this as an opportunity to reach out in hopes to be connected with honest, oath honoring officials who really believed in their own movement. I also was not blind to the idea that a portion of those contacts may not even have access to the email addresses anymore, and that another portion may not ever see it come through their inbox, and lastly, I understood if some thought responding in any way could cause room for liability of some sort.
So of the 898 points of contacts made that hold no political positions, and no former or current professional position of law, I would have a total of four responses that took the time to at least address me as a real human being, going through this real life situation, and at moments when I wanted to quit.
No Arrest Made
In the State of California, I would begin at the level of law enforcement with calling 911 a total of 9 times in an emergency situation only to be ignored, hung up on, told to wait. I would receive a returned call from an officer hours later that would take a report over the phone. There would be no arrest made, there wouldn’t even be an in person questioning of myself or my abuser. There would be a call to Child Protective Services the following day however, based on my verbal statement of events.
Two weeks later, a worker from CPS would contact me for an emergency visit, which is frightening to imagine what constitutes as an emergency and the time to which it is responded to. Developing a family safety plan, I would try for the second time to obtain an Order of Protection.
I would first need the report from the officer who I spoke with on the phone. I would spend six weeks attempting to converse with Butte County Victims Advocate, District Attorney Secretary, and leaving multiple voicemails for the officer to return my call.
In week 4, I would receive a call from the Victim Advocate, who would leave a voicemail to return her call. After being told a number of conflicting statements regarding the report that had gone missing, I was fortunate enough to have a volunteer attorney make a three way call with me to request that report. It was only then that I was able to move forward a small step. It would take 4 attempts of filing for my DVRO before it was finally half approved and half denied, and set for a permanent hearing the following month.
At this point, the CPS worker had never returned any of my calls, instead I received one reply to my emails stating she was out of the office.
The District Attorney handling my case never once returned a call, I could never receive a definitive answer to whether my case was considered closed or not closed, and I would eventually receive a call from the officer who hadn’t called me back over the last 4 months, to do a follow up report that the DA was requesting.
I had my abuser served court documents, and as optimistic as I was knowing I provided the audio recording of the incident, my abuser had warrants for Domestic Assault and Battery by Strangulation in the State of Oklahoma to which I was fleeing from, and he never appeared for court, I was beyond confused when my protective order was denied due to Subject Matter Jurisdiction, but then read Petitioner lives in a different town. An error in law, that no attorney could quite understand was possible.
If that weren’t enough, I received a letter a few days after court from the Compensation board for victims. I was informed I was denied due to the report given by law enforcement did not constitute me as a victim to a crime. I called Butte County Sheriff’s Records Department and requested the records immediately.
At the beginning, I was denied. After utilizing some of the knowledge I had read and verbalizing my rights to the records, I was finally given the reports from the Officer. It was the responsibility of the Victim Advocate to send those to the compensation board when they requested them, to which she only sent the first report not the follow up reports. When I had spoke with the officer for the supplementary reports, he informed me he had called someone he knew personally that worked within Oklahoma Johnston County Sheriff’s Office to verify the warrant I mentioned, and was told there was no such warrant.
I argued that the ODCR website will verify what I told him. The California Officer had spoken with Johnston County Sheriff Deputy Ty Richeson. Deputy Richeson, coincidentally happens to be from Butte County, California and had moved to the Johnston County area.
The Victim Advocate was a family member of my abuser. She didn't recall, I had even been in her home at one time and introduced myself to her. Revictimization is sometimes more traumatizing than the initial abuse.
It Was Then I realized, I Had No One to Keep My Son Safe.
I could not depend on law enforcement, or the judicial system. It had been three years since I left Oklahoma, and I was beginning to understand it wasn’t safe for my son and I to go back. I started devoting more time to understanding the process of the judicial system and the legalities of my situation. I made contact with the Assistant District Attorney of Pontotoc County, who became one of the first positive interactions I had with someone who had a judicial position. She listened. She took the time to explain. She remembered I was human. From that time to even the present time now the positive responses were slim.
One mother who had become a member of the MMIW ( missing and murdered indigenous women), committee enacted under Department of Interior Deb Holland, responded to me an email. A simple response that impacted my emotions significantly. She wrote, “ I received you email, I want you to know I hear you.” She went on to explain she couldn’t do much except bring the attention to the committee the jurisdictional issues I was facing, but what mattered is that she made me feel like I wasn’t wasting my time trying to protect my son.
One liaison for the FBI NICS department, would also reply to my emails of concern. She genuinely cared enough to inform me that she wasn’t seeing anything felonious on my abusers record, but asked me to provide case numbers or anything that could help her flag him in the system. I provided the information I had, giving every case number I could track from all the past he kept hidden.
It was then I learned, a dispatcher has full access to the NICS database, and although they may not delete a record, they can alter and delete certain parts within the record. The entity that was to oversee the audits of such modifications, was the State Auditor. When I contacted the State Auditor to ask whom I would contact for requesting or submitting a tip for such an audit, the employee on the phone replied, “ I don’t THINK that we do that”. The realization of how disorganized the system was becoming all too apparent. There was no accountability being conducted, therefore there was no regulation of power.
When we as a public aren’t ensuring compliance from public servants, we are allowing a sense of power to corrupt order. I have contacted 301 attorneys regarding my legal situation. Part of those reside in California, part in Oklahoma, and some were licensed to practice Federal Law. It was brought to my attention by another attorney that with the multitude of legal issues, I may have to consider lawyers in separate areas of practice.
There is hundreds of attorneys with webpages that state, “ We help ensure justice for our victims, any case”, except mine and probably some other unlucky victims with complex cases. Yet there are thousands of attorneys there to assist defendants of domestic violence, and that holds validity in the judicial process, however it’s a repetitive argument and can be viewed as quick income on retainer no matter their defendants outcome. Thus, leaves victims to fight against their abuser, fight for their rights, and even to begin another case as a pro se filer just to fight for it all.
Marsy’s Law varies slightly state to state, but the overall intention was to give a voice to those who were silenced. To let a judge know that the abuser has stolen peace from a victim and/or their family and although we want justice, we can’t expect it but at the very least we want enforcement of the laws that the States have enacted. We want accountability to be held to ensure there is no more victimization. We want there to be a better way to educate those enforcing the laws, and a voice to speak about how their words and actions affect us.
A victims sole remedy for violation of victims rights, is a Writ of Mandamus. A writ of Mandamus, is an extraordinary writ only to be used after all other methods have been exhausted. It is an order from an appellate court to a District Court enforcing them to fulfill their official capacity duties. Every state has a pro se filing packet, due to the extent of rules and regulations when filing a Writ.
All States except the State of Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Crime Victims board, wasn’t sure what it was, how it was filed and so forth. The appellate court clerk didn’t believe they were filed within their court.
The Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office Victim Advocates weren’t sure where to find such a form, or the details surrounding filing it.
The Oklahoma American Bar Association, referred me to check with private attorneys.
I contacted several domestic violence advocates in Oklahoma, and not a single one knew what A writ of Mandamus was nor how to file one, yet they are publicizing Marsy’s Law, and telling victims they can enforce these rights.
If they aren’t enforced, then what are they telling victims?
They just accept the violations? When I asked the Oklahoma State Court Network clerk about a Writ of Mandamus form, she informed me they don’t have one. Instead they have a movant file a “ Petition in Error” with the court. However, they do have a “ Writ of Prohibition”, and “ Writ of Habeas Corpus”. A “ Petition in Error”, is a completely separate action from a “ Writ of Mandamus”.
With the sole remedy for a victim or a victims’ family to enforce rights being “Writ of Mandamus”, why hasn’t the State of Oklahoma created this or educated their advocates on what it is, the requirements that must be followed in order to file, and what remedies must be taken prior to filing. A writ of Mandamus has extensive requirements, from a specific order of the submitted documents, to the fifteen copies that must be filed with the Appellate Court Clerk who isn’t sure they file them within their court?
If there is one thing to be said about the laws in Oklahoma, is there is a lack structure by the lack of revision and are unequally applied by biased judgement. That isn’t to be taken as an insult, rather than the reality of what growing up in a small town creates and the conflicts that arise when faced with knowing one or both parties involved in a legal matter. With over 43,000 domestic violence calls made and approximately 1000 of those calls led to an arrest, the question arises within those 42,000 other officer reports what solution was made. It’s interesting enough to question if a there was a particular county that counted for a majority of those 1000 arrests. Or where a majority of the calls came from and the ratio of arrests per those calls were made?
Corruption Forms
The ability to carry out the legal obligations required interferes with the relationships between professional and personal too often that the need for one's own personal comfort is priority over the oath they have taken. The ability to unblur the lines clearly enough to accept reality. The only uncertainty is how far that line of familiarity will follow before someone fulfils their obligations. Without a break in that cycle, corruption forms. Within that cycle, enabling becomes entitled. A close friend knows this person, and can this person put in a word for that person, and so forth. The Domino Effect. It will tumble to mass chaos, and those pushing the next domino may not have the slightest clue of the mass pile up they are contributing to.
Imagine an architect and an artist building a display of dominos replicating the State of Oklahoma, but at the size of a Semi Truck, for visual context. Oklahoma is fairly easy to shape, but it still hasn’t been completed over four years, because about every three months, someone comes along and knocks the first domino over and all the work they have done is demolished. No one to help, no one to safeguard, nothing but sabotage. If it happened to be actions by the same group of people repeatedly, most people would begin to wonder why there are no repercussions.
Johnston County
There is a small county within the State of Oklahoma, that has had every reason to be in the spotlight for their rogue actions. There needs to be a closer look at just how much power the State has allowed one Sheriff. There are no rules that can’t be bent for those who work for him. Johnston County, Oklahoma has no issue using their authority in any way they seem fit. From the Sheriff and his deputies, to the District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney, to the District Judge, because they have been allowed this courtesy at the cost of infringement.
This is where the story of my own personal experience comes in.
I filed a protective order in 2019 against my abuser, after he strangled me and slammed my head into a concrete floor. I specifically asked that Pontotoc County not send the order by fax, because my abusers sister would be the one to receive it. The cover sheet for that protective order reads, “ Defendant's sister works as dispatch.” No one listened or took it seriously, and just as I predicted, his sister would receive the order by fax. This allowed the defendant a verbal warning to leave the county so he could not be served.
A Johnston County Deputy would attempt to serve the Protective Order once and even made note stating, “ Defendant was not at residence.” At the bottom of the page, he would also include, “ Residence does not exist.”
In fear for my son and I, I did not appear in court. At that time, Pontotoc County had done exactly what I asked them not to do. They jeopardize the safety of my son and I. Four years later, my abuser was finally arrested in the State of Arizona for the warrant out of Pontotoc County for Domestic Assault and Battery by Strangulation.
He would spend two weeks in Arizona while the new District Attorney from Pontotoc County juggled with the decision to extradite him or not. After finally deciding to have his transported to Pontotoc County, he would be given a court date for two months later and released on a twenty five hundred dollar bail one day later. His first court appearance, he would be told his condition of bail was to retain counsel and was given 55 days to do so. He appeared without counsel after 55 days, stating he was communicating with an attorney and was given another 30 days.
My Abuser Resides In Johnston County
These are the facts, to which there is documentation to verify. My abuser is residing in Johnston County. He was released from Pontotoc County Jail with outstanding warrants in Johnston County for violent crimes.
Johnston County refused and still refuses to take him into custody.
Johnston County was asked by the Assistant District Attorney of Pontotoc County and Lighthorse for assistance in apprehending my abuser for the warrant from Pontotoc County.
Sheriff Dodd refused to communicate with both agencies.
Outside Law Agencies from the State of California have called Johnston County to verify the warrant multiple times over the last two years. Each time, they were lied to and told he did not have warrants. The common factor in those inquiries was the Dispatcher on duty. Amanda Smith also known as my abuser's sister and the Undersheriff’s wife.
Sheriff Dodd and his deputies are cross deputized which would allow apprehension of a fugitive without the worry of jurisdiction, and even boast on social media in doing so of other fugitives.
Sheriff Dodd has even made posts claiming he will seek justice for all domestic violence victims.
In fact, he made a post within the same time my abuser was released from Pontotoc County, about another felon from out of state that had warrants that he took into custody. The protection they have generously given to my abuser has had a negative impact on my life and my son's life.
We lived in the National Forest for the last two years out of my car/tent, because I feared for our lives. Any time there is an address change for me, it is in a database to which his sister has access. His records have been altered, his history has been ignored and my son and I pay the price everyday.
This man strangled me more times than I can count on both hands. I was dragged around a hotel suite by my hair, on my knees begging him to stop. I have been hit, kicked out of my vehicle, his vehicle, and pushed off the top stairs backwards. I have had my windows smashed out, stalked, harassed, and isolated from my friends, my family and then the world.
I lived every day in fear for years, couldn’t enroll my son into school, because there is nothing to protect him, and can’t move back home because I know he would kill me. It would take a corpse body to be found or go missing, before any single law enforcement officer, judge or district attorney listened to how dangerous this man is.
To listen to how dangerous Johnston County Law Enforcement is.
Bradylist alone shows validation of the power being abused. The curiosity of why would a Sheriff void his oath, not only as a Sheriff but as a Federal Agent as well?
That is a question that would rely on a promise of protection by officials that haven’t been corrupted. It would rely on a higher authority to fulfill their obligations. An internal affairs investigation, an audit of NICS database, and an open mind that could rewind and put the puzzle pieces together.
There is an underlying history of murder, fraud, drug trafficking, coverups, lies and corruption embedded within the Johnston County District. It’s determining how far up the ladder all those crimes climb or how many oaths are being broken to keep it hidden.
At the end of the day, even with the severity of the life altering events that took place in my own life, my abuser may walk without serving a full sentence of three years. He may walk away without serving a single day within the walls of Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
If Marsy’s Law were really effective as it was meant to be within the State of Oklahoma, my voice would have been heard, I wouldn’t have spent so much time explaining to Court Clerks what a Writ of Mandamus actually was, and I would be notified of what was going on in the proceedings instead of my mother risking her safety to be at court with my abuser.
I still have fear everyday
I still have fear everyday but it’s something I will face to expose the corruption and make my voice heard.
I have contacted multiple Oklahoma State Representatives, and not a single response.
I have written letters to the Attorney General, and not a single response.
I have filed the complaints and sent the Department of Justice many letters and no response.
I left and broke a cycle of violence for my son and his future.
Now I have to break the cycle of fear so that he can live life.
-Falesha
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