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Real justice requires that the punishment fit the crime. What Williams-Bolar is facing is clearly over the top.

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    Jail?
    Dear Friend,

    As you've likely seen in the news, Ohio mom, Kelley Williams-Bolar, recently went to jail for sending her kids to a highly ranked school near where her father lives, which was out of her home school district.[1] She was trying to give her children a better life. Now, as a convicted felon, helping her children will be even harder -- she was studying to become a teacher, but that dream may have ended with the felony conviction as well.

    Real justice requires that the punishment fit the crime. By any measure, this is cruelly unjust.

    *Please join me and national non-profit organizations, MomsRising and ColorOfChange.org, in calling on Ohio Governor Kasich to take a public stand and do everything he can to right this injustice (including making sure that Williams-Bolar has the opportunity to become a teacher in Ohio). And please ask your friends and family to sign the letter as well -- it takes just a moment:

    http://action.momsrising.org/letter/Ohio_Mom/?referring_akid=2531.239772.ON0cV9&source=taf

    What happened? Kelley Williams-Bolar is a single mother of two daughters who's a teacher’s aide in Akron city schools in Ohio and has been studying to become a teacher. According to Williams-Bolar, after their home in a housing project was burglarized, she decided to protect her daughters’ safety by sending them to school in neighboring Copley Township, where her father lives. In an interview with the Akron Beacon-Journal, Williams-Bolar explained she feared for her children's safety after school, 'I could not conceive of them walking home after our home was violated.'' [2]

    Williams-Bolar claims that she maintained a part-time residence at her father’s home, but the school district didn’t see it that way. Neither did County Prosecutor Sherri Walsh, who charged Williams-Bolar with grand theft and falsifying records — a third-degree felony. The judge presiding over the case recognized the harshness of the felony charge and encouraged Prosecutor Walsh to offer a plea bargain for a lighter charge — but Walsh flatly refused.[3]

    The end result was cruelly unjust with a punishment that went far beyond what the crime merited. Williams-Bolar was convicted on the felony charge, and sentenced to 5 years in prison. The judge suspended all but 10 days of the jail time, instead ordering 2 years of probation and 80 hours of community service. She’s out of jail now, but the repercussions could last a lifetime: Unless the felony is eliminated from her record, Williams-Bolar may be unable to earn her teaching certificate under Ohio law. Williams-Bolar is only a few classes away from earning her teaching certificate.[4]

    Ridiculous!

    Any parent could understand why Kelley Williams-Bolar did what she did to try to give her children access to opportunity.

    Join me and ask OH Gov. Kasich do everything he can to right the injustice Kelley Williams-Bolar faces.

    http://action.momsrising.org/letter/Ohio_Mom/?referring_akid=2531.239772.ON0cV9&source=taf

    Together we are a powerful voice for women and families,

    Elena

    [1] http://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-mom-jailed-sending-kids-school-district/story?id=12763654

    [2] http://www.ohio.com/news/trexler/114319074.html


    [3] http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/114692469.html

    [4] http://abcnews.go.com/US/ohio-mom-jailed-sending-kids-school-district/story?id=12763654

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    Demand Justice for Kelley Williams-Bolar

    Ohio mom, Kelley Williams-Bolar, recently went to jail for sending her kids to a highly ranked school near where her father lives, which was out of her home school district.

    While Williams-Bolar made a mistake in saying her children lived with her father, the punishment in her case is vastly disproportionate to the crime she committed.  Williams-Bolar was convicted on a felony charge, and sentenced to 5 years in prison. The judge suspended all but 10 days of the jail time, instead ordering 3 years of probation and 80 hours of community service. She’s out of jail now, but the repercussions could last a lifetime: Unless the felony is eliminated from her record, Williams-Bolar may be unable to earn her teaching certificate, which she's only a few classes away from earning, under Ohio law.

    Kelley was trying to give her children a better life.  Now, as a convicted felon, helping her children will be even harder -- she was studying to become a teacher, but that dream may have ended with the conviction as well.

    Please join us and ColorOfChange.org, in calling on Ohio Gov. Kasich to take a public stand and do everything he can to right this injustice!

    G-FKC1JKZLDL

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