(Guest Post) Woman Warrior
Woman Warrior – an Afghanistan Veteran – Fights for Justice for ALL Women in the USA
By Lynn Hardy
Mark Jernigan, the only DA in Roscommon County, Michigan, told
Kelly Lowe, “No jury will convict this man of rape when you (Kelly)
left your husband and two boys at home to go out drinking with
your sister.”
Kelly asked, “Are you saying that if a married woman goes out
and gets drunk without her husband that she deserves to be
raped.”
The prosecuting attorney chuckled and said nothing.
Despite the compelling evidence, Kelly is refused a trial:
- Rape Kit verifies assault
- Blood on clothes because Kelly punched him in the nose
- Eye witnesses who came running when they heard Kelly yell and saw the
- rapists running from the room with a bloody nose
- A phone confession to the police
Can this really be happening in the Twenty First Century in one of the most
progressive countries in the world? This is the time people have dreamed of for
centuries: It is 2015, yet this injustice continues.
This is Kelly’s story:
In 2014 Kelly and her sister gathered at their mom’s house for the first time in
many years. On Dec. 26:
– The kids were all tucked in bed
– The bags were all packed
Kelly and her husband had been fighting during week. Her sister suggested they
go out for a girls night and get a few drinks. This upset Kelly’s husband and they had an
Kelly and her sister went out… Kelly got really hammered. Not wanting to get into
another argument, her sister insisted on going to the house of some guys she knew
from high school. Kelly passed out cold in a bedroom while her sister went upstairs with
Kelly woke with a guy on top of her and inside her. She screamed and punched
him in the nose. The guy got off and said, “I think you broke my nose,” and ran out of
Her sister and the two other friends heard Kelly yelling came running downstairs.
They saw the rapists running from the room with a bloody nose.
A rape report was filed on and a rape kit confirmed the attack along with the eye
eyewitnesses who saw his fleeing the room. Blood on Kelly’s clothes provide DNA evidence
identifying the attacker. The police have a phone call recorded with the rapist admitting
The Mark Jernigan, the prosecuting attorney in Roscommon County, Michigan
told Kelly in a phone conversation that they were not
prosecuting because, “No jury will convict this man of
rape when she left her husband and two boys at home
to go out drinking with her sister.”
Kelly asked, “Are you saying that if a married woman
goes out and gets drunk without her husband that she
deserves to be raped.”
The prosecuting attorney chuckled and said nothing.
Kelly pursued this with the State Attorney General who said, “The prosecuting
attorney is just making a strategic opinion.”
“That’s not justice,” Kelly said.
The State Attorney General replied, “That’s your opinion.”
“I would hate for the press to get a hold of this story…” Kelly said.
“Go right ahead,” said the State Attorney General, sounding cocky as hell.
When discussing her attack with me, Kelly Lowe said, “I proudly served in
Afghanistan because I believed in this country. To come home and be told
that my case wasn’t going to be prosecuted because ‘no jury would side
with a woman who leaves her husband and son to go drink with her sister,’
was more devastating than the actual rape itself. They were saying that
because I was a wife and mother who had drinks with her sister, I deserved
to be raped, and I didn’t deserve a trial or justice. The man who raped me
walks away free.”
Surely there was something we could do. I added my voice to hers in the
only way I knew how: I created a Facebook Event as a rallying point with
the hope of gathering enough support that the media will pick up the story.
Will you join the fight for a trail for Kelly?
Click Here to find the “Hold HIM Accountable” event on Facebook.
About Lynn Hardy
I am a #1 Amazon Kindle Bestselling author for my fantasy romance
series, Prophecy of the Flame. Last year, I was led to write a
nonfiction book, Angels Believe in You.
At lunch the day after I started the Facebook event, my husband
asked why I was willing to put so much effort into something like
this. At first I insisted that it was because it was the right thing to do.
Moments later as we continued discussing this, it hit me like a ton of bricks: I was a
victim of DATE RAPE – it is how I lost my virginity. It is the beginning of my journey illustrated in
the book Angels Believe in You. I didn’t want to start the book out that way, but I was led to
add it after I had already completed most of the manuscript. If I hadn’t written about it so
recently, I may not have connected the two events.
After hearing Kelly’s story and talking with her, all I knew was that somewhere deep
inside a strong urging compelled me to do all that I could to help get justice for Kelly – Thanks to
the questioning of my husband, now I know where that came from. Not only because it is right,
but for VICTORY for EVERY WOMAN who has been raped and who didn’t get justice.
I hope you will join with us: Together we can shine a light helping women across this
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/359058110958195