A senior at Arrowhead High School has set out to change child endangerment laws. She has made it one of her life goals to get a new law in place that protects children. She says she hopes to do this through state and countrywide statues. She would like to remain anonymous, for the purpose of this article, she will be named Sam.

Sam says, “Laws are written to protect the people, however, I feel I was not protected. There are many laws throughout the Nation. Yet, child endangerment seems to lack focus.”

“The mental health of children is crucial to their success in their life that follows. Committing a crime in front of a minor has a negative impact on their health and their life. There needs to be a strict law in place to protect children from mental harm due to the action(s) of others.  I was only six years old when a man tried to murder my mother in front of me.”

She says her “law would put criminals in jail for a longer period of time if the violent crime they committed was in front of a child either directly or indirectly. These children are victimized and can suffer long term effects that can follow them around for their entire lives.”

According to a September 2015 bulletin publication released by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) called “Children’s Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: An Update:” it states that out of the 4,503 families surveyed, 22.4% of children at the age of seventeen or under fell into the category of, Witnessed Indirect Victimization.

Sam says, “That is a shocking average of three out of five families where there has been at least one child exposed to and affected by horrible violence. I am a survivor of this type of violence. I was only six years old when a man tried to murder my mother in front of me. I live with the effects of his crime every day. He is now out of prison and I fear every day that he will follow through with his threats to leave me motherless. Help make criminals pay for not only the things they put their direct victims through, but also a child witness.”

Wisconsin residents were asked to read a copy of Sam’s Law. Then, asked about their thought with the above proposed law were. There were different points made, but they generally had the same opinion. It should be passed.  

Alex Lallas (of Madison, WI) said, “You can not deny personal experiences, the idea[of this law] is phenomenal. [It] made a valid point, the mental health of children should not lack focus. The article was filled with information. It helped form an opinion without being pushy.”

Braden Huffman (Madison, WI) said, “There is a gray area about if this is constitutional. It would also be hard to prove the violence happened either directly or indirectly with a minor as a  witness. If it can be proven, it should be an added charge. It would do good at the state level, but may be hard to put into federal law.”

Chikita Martin (Madison, WI)  said, “I like [the idea] because children are affected. And people should be in jail longer if they mentally hurt a child. It should definitely be moved into and passed as a law.”

Sam intends to pursue her goal of having the law passed. She may need to reach out to the community for their support. Sam plans to send a letter to her district representative before the end of this year. She has already sent it out twice, but never heard any helpful feedback.