In 1999, Jessica Gonzales filed for a restraining order against her estranged husband Simon. She was granted it, meaning Simon was not supposed to contact Jessica or her three daughters except during pre-arranged court visits. But as is so commonly the case when it comes to domestic abusers, Simon showed little concern for the paper tiger the restraining order has come to represent in the legal system.
A mere month later, Simon kidnapped his three daughters as they played in Jessica’s yard. She immediately contacted the authorities and begged for help, but the police told her to wait and she if he brought them back. She continued imploring the police for help throughout the evening, but each time she was rebuffed. A few hours after she finally returned home at their insistence, her husband showed up at the police station, opened fire, and was killed. They found the three little girls dead in the backseat of his vehicle.
Jessica sued and the case went all the way up to the US Supreme Court, where the justices reached one of the worst decisions in our nation’s history that continues to threaten abuse victims to this day.
Watch as I discuss the Castle Rock v. Gonzales case this week on Copaganda:
