Episode 160: 936 Miles for Mercy

Since I started making this podcast, I’ve told the stories of a number of children that have involved the failures of the family court system. So many names pop into my head when I think about it: Thomas Valva. Nakota Kelly. Averylee Hobbs. James Biel. Corey Micciolo. Since 2008, over 900 American children have died at the hands of a parent or guardian after involvement with the family court system, which punishes parents – especially mothers – for reporting domestic or child abuse.

Ohio mom Sara Moore, who lost custody of both of her boys for that exact reason, has had enough. Earlier this year, Sara pledged to walk a total of 936 miles from Columbus to the White House and back, one mile for each of the 936 who lost their lives due to mistakes made by the family court system. This is the story of an embattled mother who will never stop fighting for her children and the quest she’s undertaken to draw attention to the epidemic of family court-related child deaths in this country.

This is the inspiring story of 936 Miles for Mercy.

Links discussed in this episode:

Angels’ Voices Silenced No More: https://angelsvoicesnm.org

Protect Kids from Family Court: https://www.facebook.com/events/s/protect-kids-from-family-court/1539696220169930/

Sara’s GoFundMe campaign: https://www.gofundme.com/f/protect-kids-from-family-court-936milesformercy

Center for Judicial Excellence: https://centerforjudicialexcellence.org/

The Saunders study: https://barrygoldstein.net/component/tags/tag/the-saunders-study

UN Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem’s United Nations (UN) report on custody and violence against women and children: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/urgent-reforms-needed-protect-women-and-children-violence-custody-battles-un

The Meier study: https://xyonline.net/sites/xyonline.net/files/2020-05/Meier%2C%20U.S.%20child%20custody%20outcomes%20in%20cases%20involving%20parental%20alienation%20and%20abuse%20allegations%202020.pdf

CDC page on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html

Avett Ray on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2GRjyu6I8E355bDOvv6h8h?si=WhfBBI1WTUqw-2UoRbvE9Q

Avett Ray on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEFFl4jVhSQLx-r-08kYtng

Avett Ray on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/avett-ray/1661435060

Avett Ray on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avettray/

Avett Ray on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avettray/

This episode is brought to you by Factor. Head to https://factormeals.com/children50 and use code children50 to get 50% off.

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This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.