VIDEO: Law mandating maintenance for children whose parents die in DUI crashes conceived in Missouri, has gone global, still proposed here

Laws are being passed or considered in multiple states and other nations which require those who kill parents while driving drunk to pay restitution to surviving children.  Now the woman who is the driving force behind the idea says it’s time for it to be enacted where it began:  Missouri.

Mason and Bentley Williams (Photo courtesy: Cecelia Williams)

      In April 2021, in Jefferson County, a drunk driver caused an accident that killed 24-year-old Lacey Newton, 30-year-old Cordell Williams, and four-month-old Cordell Williams, Jr., of Bonne Terre.  The couple left behind two surviving children, Bentley and Mason, now being cared for by Cordell’s mother, Cecelia Williams.

      Williams soon began crafting what has become known as “Bentley and Mason’s Law,” or more commonly “Bentley’s Law.”  It would require people who are convicted of killing a parent or parents while driving drunk to pay child support for the care of surviving children. 

      In the Missouri House, it is being sponsored for the third year by Representative Mike Henderson (R-Bonne Terre), in House Bill 1958.

      “What we’re saying is, these people … should have responsibility, and we’re trying to use many of the same guidelines for determining that child support as you would for in a divorce situation.”

      Williams on Wednesday told the members of the House Judiciary Committee, “This bill is not only about paying that restitution.  This bill is about people understanding that there are true consequences to one’s actions, and when we add on the extra consequences of that child maintenance, we’re sending a message that you cannot just get in a vehicle and kill people.”

      Henderson said in the wake of crashes of this nature, surviving children are left in many different situations. 

      “Sometimes there’s one parent left, sometimes there’s none.  Sometimes they end up with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, or … they end up as a ward of the state in many instances.”

      Williams said that some who have found themselves in her position, aren’t able to raise the surviving children, and their trauma is multiplied.

Representative Mike Henderson (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “I listened to a lady from New York … she said, ‘I don’t know what to do.  I’m going to lose my grandson.’  She suffered so much because her family died and she had to give her grandson to the state because she could not afford him.  She’s on a fixed income … to this day it kills her.  She died all over again.  She died the day that her family was killed, she died that day too, and she’ll die every single day that she wakes up.”

      The committee also heard from the mother of 23-year-old Racheal Grace Neldon, who was one of four people killed in an accident she says was caused by a drunk driver in April of last year.  Jennifer Neldon told the committee while this bill wouldn’t help her family, it could be a deterrent to at least some people who would drive drunk.

      “This bill may be specific towards children when their parents are killed and my story is obviously different, but there are no survivors to charge, no court cases to sit through, but the advocacy and demand for change is still the same.  This is a public health crisis and we as a society need to stand up and do something about it.”

      Of the places that have enacted this policy, Williams said, “The bill passed in Tennessee in 2022.  In 2023 it passed in Kentucky, Maine, and Texas.  We have bills that are called ‘Bentley’s Law’ overseas … I received a call in the middle of the night from a news station in Korea.  On March 17 of 2023, Bentley’s Act was introduced in Korea.  This bill, now, is in Puerto Rico … we also have a bill in Guam.”

      She told the committee she will testify in March before the Parliament of Canada, where such a law is being considered.

      “This bill started here in Missouri, my hometown, my home state, and I would really love to see this bill pass where it started.  It is needed here.  Missouri has a problem and we need to fix it.”

      The Committee’s chairman, Representative David Evans (R-West Plains), told Williams, “Certainly it is a tragedy; soul-piercing sadness, the brief little bit of understanding we have of what you’ve gone through, but on the other hand the uplifting and courage you’ve shown, the dedication to try to use that experience that you’ve gone through to, and literally have, change the laws, change the people of the world.  That’s quite amazing, what you have done.”

      The committee is expected to vote soon on Bentley and Mason’s Law.

See Cecelia Williams’ testimony to the House Judiciary Committee below:

Legislative package addresses domestic violence, trafficking

      Missouri legislators passed a package of measures intended to protect victims of sexual and domestic violence and trafficking before the 2022 regular session drew to a close on May 13.  Senate Bill 775 contained language sponsored by several House members, and now awaits action by Governor Mike Parson (R).

Representative Hannah Kelly (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      “It’s our big legislative win for this session,” said Jennifer Carter Dochler, who was the legislative liaison for the Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence during the regular session. 

      The bill was handled in the House by Representative Hannah Kelly (R-Mountain Grove), who was glad to see it reach the governor’s desk despite issues in the legislature that created challenges for all legislation this year.

      “At the end of the day the process that our founding fathers set out caused it to be that we were able to come together and accomplish something good despite our differences and that is a beautiful thing that everybody needs to walk away remembering should always be our highest priority.  You’re not going to find a better [issue] to do it on than this.”

      Kelly said of particular importance to her, personally, in SB 775 is the language that establishes the “Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights.”  This seeks to make sure victims know their rights regarding the gathering of evidence and related medical exams; access to incident reports; and protections from intimidation and harassment by an attacker. 

      Kelly said someone important in her life is a victim of rape and, “The provisions in this bill, I believe, would’ve brought justice for this person in a swifter manner.”

      The Bill of Rights portion is meant to, among other things, give some clarity and guidance to victims, who often find themselves traumatized and with no knowledge of what to do or to whom to turn.

All [that a victim knows] is a really horrible thing has happened that nobody ever dreams will happen to them,” said Kelly.  “The heart and soul of it is protecting victims and providing stronger protections and providing education … and what greater cause to unite behind than educating and empowering victims in these horrible situations to know what their rights are and to know the pathway by which they can appropriately seek justice.”  

      SB 775 also clarifies definitions in Missouri law regarding “sexual contact” and “sexual conduct.”  Representative David Evans (R-West Plains) said he dealt with at least one case, during his 28 years as a judge, in which unclear definitions regarding contact with minor victims hindered prosecution.

      “Taking ambiguous law or badly written law and making it clear is important clearly for the victims of crime but also clarifies, which is required in criminal law, exactly what the crime is,” said Evans.  “None of us can be convicted of a crime that’s ambiguous.  That’s protection under due process … it’s good to have specific law especially when you’re dealing with a very serious felony.”

Representative David Evans (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

      SB 775 would specify that no persons younger than 18 will be prosecuted for prostitution, and if located by law enforcement while engaged in commercial sexual acts, they will be considered a victim of abuse and referred to the Children’s Division and juvenile officers to receive help.  It also eliminates the requirement that a person under 18 and charged with prostitution must prove they were coerced to avoid conviction.

      These were provisions found in legislation sponsored by Representative Ed Lewis (R-Moberly), who said the laws regarding these individuals needs to be focused on getting them help. 

      “A lot of times a minor can be in that lifestyle and not even know that they’re being trafficked, not even know that they’re being abused.  They think, ‘Well no, I’m doing this of my own free will,’ but they’re not.  They’re being abused and used by some adult for their own gain, and we have to get them the help they need to help them to understand that this is not right,” said Lewis.  “Instead of looking at these people who have come to rescue them as rescuers they can look at them as the enemy and we have to make sure that they get the help that they need so they understand what their outcome should be and how to get back to what we would call a normal life free of abuse.”

      Other related sections deal with prosecuting those who attempted to engage in sexual acts or pornography-related offenses with individuals under 18. 

      The bill also contains language sponsored by Representative Lane Roberts (R-Joplin) dealing with orders of protection.  It would state that a person with an order of protection against them cannot skip a court date regarding that order and then plead ignorance to knowing it was still in effect.  He and Carter Dochler say this defense has often been successful for abusers who would violate an order and then say they didn’t know it was in place because they didn’t attend a hearing. 

      Roberts has often said that this and other proposals he has filed stem from his time in law enforcement – including as Joplin’s police chief and the director of the Department of Public Safety – and times in his career when he couldn’t help a victim because of how the law was written. 

      “Sometimes the law doesn’t serve the victim and sometimes, frankly, the process to provide due process to the person that’s accused ultimately re-victimizes the victim, so it’s been very frustrating to me throughout my [law enforcement] career.  Now I’m in a position to do something about it.”

      Along that same line, Roberts said a provision in SB 775 that is important to him is one that allows victims to testify via video rather than have to appear in court for a domestic violence proceeding. 

Representative Lane Roberts (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Roberts says too often, a victim is afraid to proceed with prosecution for fear or retribution by their abuser.  This provision addresses that fear; specifically that requiring a victim to appear in court creates an instance in which their abuser will know where and when to find them. 

“If you read the newspapers you will frequently see where a domestic violence case was dismissed because the victim didn’t show up to testify.  I can’t tell you how many times that’s because they were afraid to show up but I guarantee you it’s a significant part of the number of people who don’t show up, and why.”

      With all these issues, legislators have to craft language that protects victims but also allows for due process for those who are accused.  Evans believes with SB 775, Missouri gets closer to finding the right balance between those considerations, “and again that’s one thing I really enjoy doing, is balancing the rights of those that are charged but making it absolutely clear to protect the victims of the crimes as well.  I think we’re getting there.”

      The House vote that sent SB 775 to the governor was 141-0.  Carter Dochler said the Coalition is, “very grateful and really excited [that] at a time where there has been so much turbulence on different issues that everybody could really come together and find agreement on items that would make things better for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, or some other related judicial proceedings.”

SB 775 includes several other provisions, including those that would make it a crime for any coach of minors to abuse a minor, whereas currently law speaks only to high school coaches; extends protections against the release of a victim’s personal information to include their personal email address, birth date, health status, or any information from a forensic testing report; and further restricts when the prior sexual conduct of a witness or victim in a sexual offense case may be inquired about in a legal proceeding.

Texting while driving ban for all drivers proposed for 2020 legislative session

The House of Representatives will consider extending Missouri’s ban on texting while driving to drivers of all ages in the legislative session that begins January 8.

Representative David Evans (photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Missouri law only bans texting while driving for those 21 and younger.  House Bill 1290 would extend that ban to all drivers.  It would also allow local jurisdictions to enact their own laws and ordinances on the use of hand-held electronic communications devices.

Representative David Evans (R-West Plains) filed HB 1290.  He said it simply doesn’t make sense to ban only younger drivers from texting while driving.

“Being one of the older people with grandchildren I can honestly say my grandkids learned to use computers and start texting and typing as young as 2 or 3 whereas I’m still struggling to do so, and it would distract me far more to text and drive than I’m sure it would most 16, 17, 18 year olds today,” said Evans.

Evans said he wanted to propose what would be the “least intrusive” expansion of the texting while driving law.  After reviewing past legislation on the matter he chose to offer the same language as 2019’s House Bill 896, filed by Representative Rory Rowland (D-Independence).

“It’s really a safety issue.  It’s important to me as a parent, it’s important to me as a grandfather.  As a former judge, you see so many of these cases these days of folks that are distracted by driving.  One of the most time-consuming and distracting things you can do is look away and type,” said Evans.  “It’s an activity we need to regulate in some fashion.  I’m not going overboard here but simply saying hey, that extreme activity of texting and driving is something you’ve got to be more careful about and [the bill would] save lives and save accidents.”

The Department of Transportation backs extending the texting while driving ban to all drivers.  Nicole Hood, State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer, said that would make roads safer for drivers and MoDOT workers.  The Department reports that since 2014, cell phone-related crashes in Missouri have increased by 31-percent, reaching nearly 2,500 last year.

“We continue to have record numbers of traffic fatalities.  For the past three years Missouri alone has had over 900 people that have been killed in traffic crashes and every one of those deaths affects a family and a community,” said Hood.  “Distracted driving, it can be a leading cause of some of these crashes, and using those cell phones and texting can definitely be a contributing factor.”

Similar legislation has received little or no attention from the legislature in recent years.  Evans said he will talk to House leaders soon in hopes of getting this bill some traction.

“It will save lives and it will save accidents, so I think it’s a good thing and I think leadership will see that,” Evans said.

Violations of Missouri’s texting while driving ban result in two-point violations against a driver’s license.  Accumulation of points can result in a license being suspended or revoked.