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Justice demands release of Kansas woman who killed her rapist, but decision rests with governor • Kansas Reflector

Theo

There is no doubt that Sarah Gonzales-McLinn killed Laurence businessman Hal Sasko. She was found guilty by a jury of her fellow murderers and is serving a minimum of 25 years in prison.

But someone can be both guilty of a heinous crime and see it as the only way out of a bad situation. Gonzales-McLinn was, according to the lawyers, a victim of sex trafficking by Sasko. She was repeatedly raped and abused for his sexual gratification. These lawyers want Kansas Governor Laura Kelly to understand both truths and grant Gonzales-McLinn clemency. After more than a year of their efforts, they now want the public to contact Kelly’s office.

Former reporter Dave Ranney has recently appeared at public presentations and spoke with me on this week’s episode of the Kansas Reflector podcast.

He said Gonzales-McLinn’s description of the situation when she began living with Sasko at age 17 was still consistent.

“Sarah’s story has never changed. I mean, from day one,” he said. “Sara has been examined by two forensic psychologists who both came to the same conclusion that she is no longer a threat to society. And her story never changes with either of them. And these are professionals who are used to finding out whether someone is telling the truth or making something up.”

When I wrote about Gonzales-McLinn in January 2023, I put it this way: She was let down by the people in her life on every level.

As a child and a teenager, she was let down by those around her. She was let down by Sasko, who initially presented himself as a kind parental figure before hatching a devious plan to bind her economically and psychologically. She was let down by those who knew about the situation but did nothing. She was let down by the legal system that did not allow jurors to hear about her shocking abuse. And she has been let down so far by a political system that should have improved her situation long before.

This basic attitude has not changed in the past 16 months.

The Gonzales-McLinn address does not apply here either.

Sarah Gonzales-McLinn didn’t know what to expect when she moved into Hal Sasko’s home in Lawrence. This photo was taken the day she moved in. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)

Michelle McCormick, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, told me that activists deal with similar situations all too often.

“The tactics he used fit into all the categories that we train when I professionally train law enforcement, prosecutors, lawyers, health care providers, anybody who will listen to me,” she said. “You know, we talk about the tactics that are used in sexual violence, domestic violence, emotional control. The way that someone is identified as vulnerable. How someone manipulates them, isolates them from support, and uses emotional denigration tactics to try to undermine their self-esteem in that way. The experiences that Sarah describes in her own words are consistent with the experiences of hundreds and hundreds of Kansas residents that I have worked with over the 25 years that I have been practicing law.”

If we failed Gonzales-McLinn, and I believe we did, think of all the other victims we failed along the way. Think of all the stories we didn’t hear or believe. And think of the suffering that resulted.

“What bothers me most is that this information was not considered in any of the criminal proceedings,” McCormick said. “It was not even included in the early media coverage.”

If we do not listen to or believe victims of sexual violence, we contribute to the continuation of this violence.

This applies to lawyers, judges and journalists.

Unfortunately, writing or talking about injustice often invites comparisons. What about other cases where our justice system has locked people up for crimes they didn’t commit? What about poverty or climate change or wars on the other side of the world? What about all of these people and their lives? Shouldn’t they come first? And what about law-abiding Americans who are struggling to make ends meet?

I have an answer: take care of this case because it can be addressed immediately.

Please take care of this case because Gonzales-McLinn was the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice.

This case is important to us because we cannot close our hearts to all the women and children who suffer at the hands of abusers.

Unfortunately, Kelly will have to wrestle with the dark art of politics. With primary and general elections coming up this year, Gonzales-McLinn’s release could well cost Democrats and moderate Republicans seats in the legislature. I can already imagine the emails from big money groups. No one goes into office with the intention of costing their party or allies anything, and Kelly still has two more years in office.

I know what I’m thinking. But I’m not the one who holds the cards.

The final words of the day come from Gonzales-McLinn herself. She wrote a short note explaining what she hopes to do and accomplish if granted clemency. Anyone curious about what her ambitions are in the coming years should check it out here. That goes for you too, Mr. Governor.

“In many ways, I just want to be normal,” she writes. “I want to reach the milestones that many people my age reach. Work, spend time with my family, finish college, hang out with friends, buy a house, go on vacation, just live my life.”

“I also know that I have a strong desire to share my story in the hopes that it can help someone trying to go through something similar. I want people to know that there is life and healing after trauma. Even though it feels like it will never get better, I want them to know that it does. And your life doesn’t have to be defined by it. I want them to know that there is a future and hope.”

Clay Wirestone is the opinion editor of the Kansas Reflector. The Kansas Reflector’s opinion section seeks to amplify the voices of people affected by public policy or excluded from public debate. Find information here, including how to submit your own commentary. Here.

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