Legislative Success
Laura’s Law
Block parole Inc. President Bret Vinocur wrote Laura’s Law after learning about the case of three-year-old Laura Skinner. Laura was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted by Bruce Lower, her mother’s boyfriend. Children’s Services investigated Lower a month before Laura’s death when Laura suffered a broken collarbone. They did nothing and left her in the home.
When Laura was brought to the emergency room on January 15, 1987, she was covered in more than 80 bruises and had a bite mark on her thigh. Lower claimed Laura bumped her head while eating oatmeal and he didn’t call authorities because of the previous abuse investigation. He blamed the bruises on Laura falling while he carried her around unconscious at a local park. According to Lower the bite mark on her thigh was to wake her up.
In order to avoid a trial Lower took a plea deal and pled guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter. Years later at Lower’s sexual predator hearing the assistant prosecutor who prosecuted the case stated he had conducted an “ineffective prosecution.” He admitted he failed to call a witness who Lower told he had been watching pornography and drinking and beat Laura when she resisted his attempts to sexually assault her.
Lower had served only 16 years of his minimal 25-year sentence when he was paroled. Twice he violated his parole and both times he was released again. No one was able to speak for Laura because due to limited information no one knew her killer was up for parole. Laura’s Law was written to ensure that would never happen again.
Laura’s Law was introduced into the Ohio House of Representatives on January 25, 2005 and was then sent to the Ohio Senate on June 7, 2005. The law passed unanimously in both the Ohio House and Ohio Senate and was signed by Ohio Governor Bob Taft on August 24, 2005. Laura’s Law took effect on November 23, 2005.
Highlights of Laura’s Law include:
- Requires the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections to establish and operate on the Internet a comprehensive database that contains specified information for each inmate eligible for parole. This includes the ability to search for all paroles in any given month/ year and details regarding the victims gender/ age (e.g. female/male; child, youth, adult)
- Permits any person to submit a written statement before an offender in the custody of DRC is granted parole and provides for DRC’s consideration of statements submitted.
- Requires all sex offender notification cards mailed to show a photograph of the subject sex offender.
Roberta’s Law
Block Parole Inc. President Bret Vinocur wrote Roberta’s Law after discovering the case of 15-year-old Roberta Francis. Roberta was beaten, sexually assaulted, and murdered by Paul Saultz while she was walking home from school in 1974. Saultz was paroled in 2005 despite the fact he received a life sentence and had a history of sexual aggression towards young girls before killing Roberta. A year later in 2006 Saultz was brought back to prison on parole violations after he molested multiple women at a handicapped center where he was attending classes while on parole.
To ensure Saultz would not walk free again Mr. Vinocur reached out to Roberta’s father, Robert Francis. Mr. Francis told Mr. Vinocur that he learned of Saultz’s parole after reading a news story that Mr. Vinocur did with The Columbus Dispatch about released sex offenders. Mr. Francis also stated that he had no idea Saultz was back in prison and up for parole again. Mr. Vinocur, Mr. Francis, and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien united and stopped Saultz from being paroled a second time. During this time Mr. Vinocur uncovered a serious problem. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections was not required to notify any victims or their families about upcoming parole hearings for any crimes that occurred prior to 1996.
Mr. Vinocur contacted Ohio Senator Steve Stivers and the two met a week later. Senator Stivers told Mr. Vinocur to “pull up a chair” and the two drafted the legislation that day in Senator Stiver’s office. It addressed the victim notification problem as well as other parole related issues. Roberta’s Law was introduced on May 22, 2007. Sadly politics and bad timing resulted in the bill dying in 2008 before it could be passed. However that would not be the end of Roberta’s Law.
Mr. Vinocur continued his parole work and pressed for changes to the Ohio parole process. On March 12, 2011 Mr. Vinocur happened to see now U.S. Congressman Steve Stivers at awards banquet both were attending. The two discussed the parole situation and Congressman Stiver’s said it was time for The Ohio Legislature to pass Roberta’s Law. He contacted Ohio Senator Kevin Bacon and Robert’s Law was reintroduced in the Ohio Senate on April 28, 2011. This time Mr. Vinocur and Mr. Francis were determined to get the job done.
Despite facing multiple obstacles Mr. Vinocur and Mr. Francis spent over a year and a half making numerous trips to the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate to present testimony about the importance of the legislation. On December 13, 2012, more than six years after Mr. Vinocur had met with then Ohio Senator Steve Stivers, Roberta’s Law was passed. The vote was unanimous in both the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate. Upon passage Mr. Francis received a standing ovation from both chambers of the Ohio Legislature. Roberta’s Law went into effect on March 22, 2013 and forever changed victim’s rights in regards to the parole process in the state of Ohio.
Highlights of Roberta’s Law:
For every parole eligible inmate convicted of Aggravated Murder, Murder, a first-, second- or third-degree offense of violence, or serving a life sentence, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Office of Victim Services’ is required to notify the victim/ victim’s family of all parole hearings at least 60 days prior to the offender’s release consideration. The law provides an opt-out mechanism for those victims who do not wish to be automatically notified. This provision applies regardless of when the crime occurred.
Mandates the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections make three attempts to reach the victim/ victim’s family and requires them to keep a detailed record of all attempts to provide the notice, and of all notices provided.
At least 30 days before the prisoner is released from prison The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections must notify the victim and the “victim’s immediate family,” of the date on which the prisoner will be released, the period for which the prisoner will be under post-release control supervision, and the terms and conditions of the prisoner’s post-release control regardless of whether the victim or victim’s immediate family requested the notification. The notice is not to be given to a victim or victim’s immediate family if the victim or immediate family has “opted out” of the notice.
Mandates that voluntary manslaughter committed with a sexual motivation be considered a sexually oriented offense. (A loophole in the current law did not allow this option for voluntary manslaughter convictions).
Mandates all paroled inmates convicted of a felony of the first degree or for a felony sex offense remain on post-release control for five years after being paroled.
Upon request, the department shall provide a detailed statement, supported by documentation, of the reasons why a particular prisoner was granted parole to the law enforcement agency that arrested the prisoner, the prosecuting attorney who prosecuted the case, or any person who is a member of the general assembly at the time the person makes the request.