Erica Hammel of\u00a0Macomb County\u00a0knew something was not right with the person her ex-husband had watch her 1-year-old son, but says that in 2013 inaccessible\u00a0public records\u00a0failed to prevent her from knowing that the person had been charged twice with\u00a0child abuse.<\/p>\n
After her son Wyatt nearly lost his life to\u00a0child abuse, Hammel started campaigning for a\u00a0child abuse\u00a0registry. It\u2019s been years of effort, but on Thursday the Michigan Senate passed legislation to create the registry. If it passes the House in the lame duck session, it will be called Wyatt\u2019s Law.<\/p>\n
Hammel said she tried to investigate the background of the abuser, who had previous convictions of\u00a0child abuse. But without knowing the county where an offense took place, the person\u2019s full name and birth date, it was impossible to access the already\u00a0public information.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had had those pieces of information, I would have been able to save Wyatt. That\u2019s what I was searching for and I had nothing,\u201d Hammel said.<\/p>\n
Wyatt is now 8 years old, but suffered traumatic brain and eye injuries that have required several surgeries and extensive therapy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just literally had the will to live,\u201d Hammel said.<\/p>\n
The proposal would require the\u00a0Michigan State Police\u00a0to compile a computerized database of individuals convicted of\u00a0child abuse\u00a0offenses in the state, including their name and date of birth, which are often needed to find court records. It would be a public website where those convicted of\u00a0child abuse\u00a0after Jan. 1, 2020, would be required to register for 5 to 10 years.<\/p>\n
This is the third time the measure has been introduced in the Legislature and Hammel hopes that this is the year it passes. But she said she\u2019s ready to fight for it in the next legislative session alongside Christine Kadlitz, whose son also was abused by Wyatt\u2019s abuser.<\/p>\n
Bill sponsor Sen. Curtis Hertel spoke on\u00a0the Senate\u00a0floor Thursday, praising Hammel and Kadlitz, who were seated in the gallery, for their tenacity in fighting for other families.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis attack could absolutely have been prevented,\u201d the Lansing Democrat said. \u201cThis is information that is public knowledge, it is publicly available knowledge, we just make it harder for people to get it. All we\u2019re trying to do is to make this information easy for parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hammel is not alone in campaigning for a\u00a0child abuse\u00a0registry. In 2017, Indiana\u2019s\u00a0child abuse\u00a0registry went online under Kirk\u2019s Law after the death of 19-month-old Kirk Coleman.<\/p>\n
Ohio is looking at a similar system under Jacob\u2019s Law for 2-year-old Jacob Barker, who died in the care of someone previously convicted of\u00a0child abuse.<\/p>\n
Michigan Senate\u00a0Majority Leader\u00a0Mike Shirkey echoed Hertel\u2019s support for the legislation, and appreciation for Hammel and Kadlitz, using their stories as a catalyst for change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no force greater no force more formidable on this Earth than that of a mother acting in defense of her child,\u201d the Republican said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Erica Hammel of\u00a0Macomb County\u00a0knew something was not right with the person her ex-husband had watch her 1-year-old son,…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n