Thread by @19thnews

🧵 Rosemarie Reilly knew her ex-boyfriend Jeremy Kelley might hurt her. But when she sought a restraining order, a Kent County, Michigan judge allowed Kelley to keep his guns.

Three weeks later, Reilly would be dead.

In collaboration with @teamtrace: bit.ly/3qSRrb3

The days after an abused person files a restraining order are extremely dangerous.

—20% of people who were killed by partners and had restraining orders were killed by those partners within 2 days of the order being issued
—30% were killed within a month bit.ly/3qSRrb3

At the Personal Protection Orders Department for Kent County, Michigan, petitioners must ask a clerk for a form, then fill it out with an affidavit describing, in less than 240 words, why they feel threatened.

It's what Reilly did on Oct. 14, 2016. bit.ly/3qSRrb3

On her personal protection order form, Reilly also checked the box next to the words "Does Respondent own firearms?"

She put another check mark in the box that asked, "Has Respondent threatened to harm/kill you with a gun?" bit.ly/3qSRrb3

Three days later, on Oct. 17, Reilly picked up the approved order, which prohibited Kelley from contacting, following, harassing or harming Reilly for six months.

Signed by Judge Daniel V. Zemaitis, the order did not bar Kelley from keeping his pistol and two long guns.

In a recent interview with @teamtrace, Zemaitis said he did not remember the specifics of Reilly's order.

But in general, he said, judges need to be cautious about restricting a person's gun rights without sufficient evidence. bit.ly/3qSRrb3

While Reilly had checked a box asserting that Kelley had guns and had threatened her with them, Zemaitis said she did not mention it in the narrative.

This could have been why he didn't order the gun restriction for Kelley. bit.ly/3qSRrb3

Experts and advocates say it's unreasonable to expect domestic violence victims to present their evidence perfectly during a terrifying situation.

Advocates also say that the bar is high for a person to get a temporary protective order — and that should be enough to bar guns.

—In eight states, the subject of a temporary protective order is automatically barred from having a gun.
—In 13 states, including Michigan, the decision is left in the hands of a judge.
—In 29 states and Washington, D.C., there is no process for taking guns away from the subject.

James Rasor, family attorney for the Reillys, says the wonder of the story is that Reilly and her family did everything right.

They called the police on Kelley at least 15 times in six weeks. Reilly went to court for a protective order. She asked them to take his guns.

Photos of Reilly cover the walls of her family's Michigan home.

"I always told her, 'Have the best day of your life, because you never know what tomorrow will hold,'" her mother, Pam, remembered. bit.ly/3qSRrb3

Days after Reilly's body was laid to rest, her aunt, Noreen Axsom, found a notebook that belonged to Reilly.

Inside she had written: "I just want to live by myself in my own place. I just want to start my life."

More from @anngivenswrites: bit.ly/3qSRrb3