By Rachel Goff
Since Richard Laws was released from prison last week, there's been a lot of talk about where he'll go and what he'll do. But at a Come Unite! community support meeting that took place the day before his release, his name was not mentioned once. Instead, the focus was on how to help his victim.
On Wednesday, April 8, close to 100 people gathered in the gym at Waitsfield Elementary School in support of Warren resident Sue Russell. Russell spent two weeks in the hospital in critical condition after she was attacked by Laws in 1992. Laws was charged and convicted of kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated physical assault and was sentenced to prison for 25 to 30 years. He was released from the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility in St. Johnsbury on Thursday, April 9, after maxing out his sentence at 23 years.
Anne Seymour, co-founder of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, Justice Solutions, spoke at the meeting in praise of the many community members who have rallied around Russell. "I come for The Valley and I stay for the volley of victim support," she said on Wednesday.
Although from D.C., Seymour came to know Russell personally over the years as she spoke out for restorative justice, she said. "Survivors, I think, would be quick to tell you how difficult it is to go through the criminal justice system," she said, explaining that "The most important factor in a victim's ability to cope in the aftermath is the social support they receive."
As a show of support for Russell, "I will not speak his name tonight," Seymour said of Laws, "because I will not give him one more iota of power or control." And the rest of the meeting's attendees did the same.
After Seymour, co-facilitators Karen Vantine and Sarah Kenney introduced an informational panel that included Amy Holloway, director of Vermont Victim Services from Department of Corrections; Lt. Matthew Nally and Det. Andy Campagne from Vermont State Police; Bobbi Gagne, executive director of Sexual Assault Crisis Team (SACT); Meg Kuhner, Circle (formerly Battered Women's Services and Shelter); and Washington County State's Attorney Scott Williams.
Indeed, in preparing for Laws' release, "We talked about a paradigm where the focus was on the victim and not the offender," Holloway said. As the director of Vermont Victim Services, Holloway has worked with Russell for the past 10 years, she explained, and April 9 "has been a touchstone for us," she said.
Leading up to last Thursday, Vermont Victim Services issued notices of Laws' release to all law enforcement divisions in the state, Holloway said, including the Middlesex barracks of Vermont State Police.
"Wherever this individual ends up, we will know," Middlesex station commander Lt. Matt Nally said of Laws. "We will have solid communication."
To ensure that Laws stays away from The Valley, Russell has obtained a restraining order against him that "is pretty remarkable," Nally said, explaining that it gives Laws permission to travel through the area on Route 100 or Route 17 but not to leave those roads.
A photo of Laws is now available on the sex offender registry. Upon his release, he was transported to Burlington, but prior to last Thursday he had indicated he planned to live in the Montpelier area. "Because this individual is going to be homeless, he's required to call in daily," Nally explained, per the conditions of the registry.
If he failed to call in one day, Laws would be in violation of the registry, "And we will know really fast," Williams said. Because Laws chose not to undergo treatment while in therapy, "He's in the highest risk category for corrections," Williams said. "If he steps off the line that has been established ... the response would be swift and appropriate."
After the panel, several attendees asked questions of the experts. "What do I do if I see him?" one resident said.
If someone were to see him in The Valley off of Route 100 or Route 17, he or she should call 911, the panel responded. If they see him elsewhere in the state, he is not necessarily in violation of the registry and should be allowed to live his life, they said.
In closing, Russell's pastor, Susan McKnight of Warren United Church, reminded attendees that while Laws' release will be difficult for Russell, "She does not wish him ill," McKnight said. If he's doing well, then we can all be doing well-er."
