GLADSTONE, Mo. — Donna Roesle is a mother of three adult kids. Hours after the murder of Hailey Owens, she organized an online petition in hopes of getting a law passed that will get tougher on criminals who commit crimes against children.
“It’s just awful that somebody can go out there and grab an innocent baby and do this,” Roesle said.
Roesle has a daughter who is expecting her first child. The outrage she felt after Owens’ sudden death has left a hole in her heart and pushed her into action.
“I just want something done. I want our children to be safe. I want my grandchildren to be safe, their kids to be safe and obviously the laws right now aren’t working,” she said.
Roesle, the owner of a Smithville beauty salon school, is now pounding the pavement and approaching her neighbors. She hopes to get as many people to sign the petition with one goal in mind.
“Sitting around doing nothing is going to do nothing,” she said.
She wants to convince Missouri lawmakers to pass a new law. It would require all convicted offenders who preyed on children to receive the death penalty or castration 30 days after the crime.
“I think anyone who takes a young child, innocent young children, and grabs them for no reason at all and rapes them, murders them or anything, I feel like without a doubt, once they’re convicted of the crime, that they should have a death sentence and castration. Immediately,” she said.
Petition co-organizer Jennifer Kerber said that the proposed punishment may give criminals pause.
“Maybe that offender or the criminal would think twice about what they’re doing if they know they’re gonna die immediately or be castrated,” Kerber said.
So far more than 5,000 people from around the metro, and states all over the country have signed Roesle’s petition.
To read the petition, click on this link
