Essay

Ruiz 1 Marisa Ruiz December 10, 2008 Essay Final

How I Exploited the Media to Expose the Injustices of Hawai‘i’s Criminal Court System and the Hawai‘i Parole Authority It was eighteen years ago when I endured the agonizing journey of a domestic violent life. Victimized, I was, but a victim of domestic violence? Not me. I refuse to accept that stereotypical terminology which is frequently used by our society that brings to mind the image of the pathetic helpless woman trapped in the ill-fated cycle of violence and turmoil. In all honesty, I can’t consider myself a victim of domestic violence, because as a participant, I was partially to blame. I was a victim, but not in the traditional sense of the word. I was a victim of the red tape, loopholes, and bullshit of a state government elected by the people for the people. In their failure to safeguard my rights, I retaliated by sharing my own painful and private experience and how our justice system failed me. With the help of a friend and the editorial power of the Honolulu Weekly, I helped open the doors to public awareness on certain legalities within the Hawai‘i Family Court System pertaining to “Rules of Evidence” and specific policies that govern the way the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority handles victims’ rights with repeat offenders. When I think back a couple decades ago, I think I accomplished a great deal for a woman in her early twenties. I had a great career with a promising future at a prestigious ad agency. I was married to a very handsome man and had a baby on the way. We owned a quaint singlefamily home on the Windward side. And I drove a brand new Mercedes. I’ve always been a

Ruiz 2 strong-willed and lively free spirit. I attribute my attitude and coping skill to strong parents. But with these fine traits, I had quite a few short-comings. My greatest problem was that I was much too proud for my own good. Therefore, when I had any personal problems, I never turned to my family or friends for support or advice. With much arrogance, I was obsessed with the idea of having the perfect family. I became the poster child for what some people refer to as the “white picket fence” syndrome. As I said before, being a willing participant, I never considered myself as a victim. After all, the physical fights never went on without a drag out brawl from me. As one would expect, the violence continued to escalate. Shortly after my son was born, I filed for divorce. Although my estranged husband was no longer residing in the house, the problems didn’t end, they just got progressively dangerous. After hearing some conflicting information about his past, I took it upon myself to do some background investigation of my own. I was completely baffled! I found out that he had a life sentence in which he served only ten years of his term for the brutal murders of two people. Of course, I was aware of the general situation when I married him, but negligent homicide is one thing and first-degree murder is incomprehensible! With this somber realization, I knew I was in a serious situation. Therefore, I filed an order of protection against him and bought a .25 caliber Beretta for my sanity. In retaliation and fear of having his parole revoked (I assume), he counter filed. Fabricating stories of being abused and threatened by me, I was served the restraining order and forced to surrender my firearm to the sheriff. Given his prior history and the delicacy of this matter, I was completely shocked that this steroidal out, two hundred fifty plus muscle bound socio-path could actually file an order of protection again me, a mere “buck-o-five.”

Ruiz 3 It wasn’t long before another episode of violence exploded. In a heated argument on the sidewalk of a busy intersection, he started to hit me. With all the people around, not one person did a thing. As soon as I broke away, I ran to my car and grabbed a bat I hid under my seat and ran after him, hitting him as hard as I could. Within seconds, the police came and it was the first time I filed formal charges against him for abuse of a family member. He was immediately arrested and booked at the main station. The very next morning, he was released on bail and on unconditional release pending our trial. According to the stipulations of his sentencing as a convicted felon, any arrest made while he is out on parole will automatically result in a temporary parole revocation. Within days, his parole officer had him detained pending the parole board’s review and determination of the situation. Fortunate for me! The next injustice I faced was how the entire court case was handled. The trial was doomed from the start. First of all, the State of Hawai‘i became the plaintiff, therefore making me a material witness. Second, was how the “Rules of Evidence” worked in his favor. From my recollection, according to Hawai‘i State Revised Statutes, any crime committed prior and unrelated to this assault was suppressed from the jury (or something to that effect). In fact, during the preliminary hearing, I was warned by the judge not to mention anything that did not pertain to this trial, otherwise it would end in a mistrial. For that reason, the jury wasn’t entitled to privileged information such as his previous convictions, parole status, or even the current status of my protective order. At the end of his trial, he was acquitted and I was labeled as the jealous wife who attacked her husband. I couldn’t help but think of all the other women who fell victims to similar situations ruled by the irrational and complete reckless logic of our great legal system.

Ruiz 4 The final injustice I experienced was with the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority and their decision to reinstate his parole. As a branch of the Department of Public Safety, the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority is made up of three members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate. They are the actual ones who review and make the determination of whether an incarcerated person can or can’t be released to the community including revoking or reinstating parole or probation of a detained felon. In my ex-husband’s case, although he was acquitted in family court, under the conditions of his parole, his arrest automatically revoked his parole until his Parole Board hearing. In the two months prior to his hearing, I was able to get letters personally written by neighbors, friends, family, my college professors, and Hawai‘i State Representative Cynthia Thielan, addressing the paroling authority, specifically to Nestor Garcia, the presiding member, in support for my case. Armed with these letters, along with the support of my representative and the complete backing of the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse, I was very optimistic about the outcome of my ex-husband’s parole hearing. In fact, Representative Theilan was able to get me an appointment to present my case to the board prior to his hearing. Accompanied by a close friend and my English professor, we went to Halawa Maximum Correctional Facility for the meeting. After going through a very invasive intake process and a two-hour long wait, the parole board decided that our meeting would have no bearing on their decision, and denied our request to hear my “victim” impact statement. By noon the following day, they reinstated his parole and released him immediately. As of today, he lives in Honolulu, enjoying all the freedoms anyone of us law-abiding citizens has. It is astonishing that those authorities appointed to protect the community, have the power to make such critical decisions that affect the livelihood and safety of others based on their own personal findings. Need I say anymore?

Ruiz 5 With little doubt in the blatant injustice this state’s various authorities did to me, I got not just angry, but FUCKING furious. I wanted revenge, payback, whatever you want to call it. I wanted to find any means to screw over someone within this administration. When all else had failed me, leaving me extremely bitter and vengeful, my girlfriend, a journalist, who attended what was supposed to be a parole hearing, had a fantastic idea. Seeing first hand at the injustice of my experience and empathetic to my present state of mind, she consulted her boss, the chief editor of the Honolulu Weekly, about featuring my story and the consequences of an ineffective justice system. With ultimate determination, I cleared my mind of all anger, cynicism, and frustration and continued with a much more different methodology. Over the course of a month consisting of hours of interviews, research, and going over court documents, she was ready to write my story. After two months, she got her editor’s approval and emailed the article to me. Although it wasn’t what I expected, I was happy to have this opportunity to be heard. But more over, I was completely elated to know that this was going to publicly embarrass at LEAST one person. The new edition hit the stands. That’s when the over abundance of phone calls started. I’ll never forget the first call; it came around 6:30 in the morning. My best friend from childhood who I hadn’t heard from since my wedding called in total shock. Impact was what I wanted, and impact I got. The responses to my article were over whelming; there were a few pissed-off letters to the editor, but on the most part, there were many opinions as well as demands for answers and reasons to why the system worked in such ways. Although there was nothing that could be done to my case specifically, I was thrilled at the prospect of getting back at the system that caused me such personal injustice. My exploitation of the Honolulu Weekly

Ruiz 6 became the successful vehicle in which my story was heard. Consequently, my ex-husband never bothered me again. By using my own personal resources, my career, and the power of the media, my screams of frustration were heard about the justice system that failed me. Although, my intentions were solely selfish in its purpose during that tumultuous time of my life, there are many personal things I learned from this experience that has made me who I am today. Despite the fact that it took me a few years, I learned to liberate my anger and got past the blame, by taking responsibility in my part of this situation as well. I achieved self-confidence and refuge within myself that made me a stronger woman today. Most importantly, I realized that if I applied that same determination I had during the adversities, to the greater and positive things in life, the sky has no limits to where I want to go. In all honesty, I don’t have any regrets. I believe that had I never known such hell, I would never have had the appreciation for the tranquility and peace my son and I enjoy today.