School assault bill panned

Board member comes to aid of assailant

February 10, 2006

JOEL DAVIDSON\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - Mandatory jail sentences for people accused of assaulting school employees on school grounds are not the best way to increase safety, according to Mat-Su School Board member Cheryl Turner.

Turner said she opposes House Bill 41 because she's concerned it gives preferential treatment to a select group of people while at their place of work.

HB 41, which was scheduled to be heard Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would mandate a minimum 60-day jail sentence for anyone convicted of fourth-degree assault of someone working in a school or a contractor who is performing school duties when the assault takes place.

Turner said the legislation oversteps the proper limits of the law.

&#8220Once we start singling out individual groups or organizations for specialized treatment, I think we run into problems,” she said. &#8220I think we should all go through the courts just like everyone else and let the judges decide sentencing.”

Turner said judges need freedom to address each case on its own merits when handing out sentences. Mandating jail sentences for assaults on school grounds hamstrings a judge's ability to take into account circumstances surrounding each case, Turner said.

&#8220You're running down a slippery slope when you start doing stuff like this,” she said. &#8220We need to let the court system sort these things outs.”

The issue hit close to home for Turner when her neighbor, Sammie Jo Wilson, recently called her for help after being charged with assaulting a secretary at Pioneer Peak Elementary School last May. Wilson was charged with fourth-degree assault after grabbing Toni Hartley by the hair and repeatedly punching her head.

After hearing Wilson's side of the story, Turner said she introduced her to a private attorney and helped pay her legal fees.

According to police reports, the assault occurred when secretary Hartley asked Wilson for identification before releasing Wilson's daughter to go home.

Recounting the incident Thursday, Wilson said she was called to pick up her daughter from school because she was sick. Wilson said she and four of her other kids were also sick that day. When Wilson arrived at the school, Hartley asked her for her identification before releasing her daughter. Wilson said she didn't have it with her and would have to go back out to her car.

Angry about having to go back to get her ID, Wilson said she uttered some choice words. &#8220I said them to myself, but it was loud enough that they overheard it,” Wilson said.

On the way back to her car, without her knowledge, Wilson's daughter followed.

&#8220I didn't see she was following me,” Wilson said. &#8220As I was going to get my license, I opened the car door and I told my son I had to get the damn license. That's when I heard [Hartley] yelling at my daughter to get back into school.”

Wilson said she turned and told her daughter to stay where she was. That's when Wilson claims Hartley stood between her and her daughter.

&#8220I walked over there, used some foul language and put my ID up in her face and said ‘Let go of my daughter,'” Wilson said. &#8220When she said ‘no,' that's when I reached for my daughter, got her by the front part of her coat and said, ‘You need to come to me.'”

Wilson said Hartley would not let go of her daughter.

In the ensuing struggle, Wilson grabbed Toni Hartley by the hair and punched her head repeatedly.

Wilson said she was wrong to resort to physical violence, but doesn't understand why she was facing a 30-day jail sentence.

Wilson was ultimately sentenced to write an apology letter to Hartley and attend anger-management classes. Her $500 fine and 30 days in jail were suspended.

Given the circumstances surrounding the incident, Turner said she thought Hartley overstepped her bounds as a school employee.

&#8220I don't support what Sammie did, but I do think this was a case where people were empowering themselves over a parent,” Turner said. &#8220And then they were looking at putting my friend in jail. There were just too many circumstances involved in this that I didn't think warranted what they were charging her with.”

If legislators pass HB 41, Turner said she fears judges won't be able to look at individual cases to make appropriate sentences.

&#8220We live in a world with a lot of problems, but sometimes we get a little out of hand with our rules and regulations,” Turner said, while adding that she still supports parental ID checks at schools.

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@

frontiersman.com.