VC woman starts petition to keep those convicted of abuse from hiding their records


Kim Oakley is a woman who has always fought fiercely for the rights of her severely autistic son, who has the mind of a 3-year-old. Now, she is fighting to protect others like him from the likes of a man who several years ago was convicted of physically abusing her son.
The man, Michael Garritson, in September 2012 was convicted on three counts of physically abusing her son while he was employed as his caregiver and nurse. He is now seeking to use a little-known California law to expunge the record of his crime from the records so that if someone was interested in hiring him as a nurse they would not know what he did.
To try to prevent this outrage, Mrs. Oakley has started a petition to try to get the attention of California lawmakers to make it impossible for Gerritson, or any other person convicted of a similar crime to hide the record of his conviction.
On her petition Mrs. Oakley says, “Why am starting this petition? I’m a California mother whose non-verbal adult child with autism was abused by a dangerous and deceptive nurse. This man now has his criminal record hidden from background checks.”
As Mrs. Oakley describes the crime: “This nurse was caught on our home video surveillance repeatedly jamming his thumb into my son’s eyes—a crime so sickening and bizarre—it shocks the senses. He was also caught bending my son’s arm over the bed board, shoving my son on the bed, yanking my son by the hair and slamming him to floor. My autistic son, who has the mind of a 3-year-old, could not fight back.”
Definitely a fighter, Mrs. Oakley says those images haunt her, but also gave her a steely resolve to do her best to change the law to better protect vulnerable people like her son.  She told The Roadrunner: “A jury convicted this sadistic nurse of three felonies under California Penal Code 368. Once off probation this nightmare of a man asked to have his criminal record ‘expunged’ or ‘sealed.’ One would think this impossible, given the crime, right? Wrong.”
Because of current law, Garritson was granted his request to hide his criminal record from prospective employers—and now he can work as a regular caregiver.
After being convicted, Judge Blaine Bowman who presided over the trial, elected not to send Garritson to state prison and gave him “time served” in county jail, despite Garritson’s prior history of animal abuse. Garritson’s prior felony abuse of animals had been reduced to a misdemenor, which allowed him to keep his nursing license and be allowed to work as a nurse.
As Mrs. Oakley describes it, “After the felony animal abuse conviction was reduced, Garritson went on to work as a home health nurse where he was then later caught on tape, eye gouging our autistic son. One of the eye gouges left our son with a MRSA infection to the eye, which could’ve blinded him.”
Several weeks ago Garritson, having completed his probation for his felony abuse of the Oakley son, went before Judge again and asked for an “expungement” under Ca Penal Code 1203.4. Because Ca Penal Code 1203.4 doesn’t list felony abuse of elderly or disabled as a crime NOT eligible for expungement, the Judge granted the expungement. However, the Judge DID not grant Garritson’s request to have his felony charges reduced.
As Mrs. Oakley explains it, “That means, as per his expunged criminal record, he doesn’t have to tell an employer he was convicted of abusing a vulnerable adult. Or that he lost his nursing license. Or that he was previously convicted of animal abuse.”
The law, California Penal Code 1203.4, allows criminals to get their criminal records expunged. There are some crimes that can’t be expunged. The California criminal code California Penal Code 368, the one for abusing elderly and disabled people, is NOT listed on the list of crimes that can’t be expunged.
As Mrs. Oakley puts it, “Yes, incredibly, punching, kicking, eye poking and otherwise beating up on elderly and adults with special needs under California Penal Code 368 wasn’t considered to be among the list of crimes serious enough that can’t be ‘expunged’ under Ca Penal Code 1203.4.” She adds, “A justice system that allows caregivers convicted of abusing disabled persons to hide past, is a threat to public safety. People that physically harm vulnerable adults are dangerous people. This type of criminal abuse should never be hidden from employers doing background checks, so that employers can weed out dangerous caregivers who apply to work with children, disabled and elderly.”
A report in 2011 prepared for the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcome concluded, “A significant number of caregivers who get in trouble have prior criminal records…In more than a quarter of the cases found, criminal caregivers had committed earlier crimes, underscoring the value of background checks…In 13 of 17 cases in which the offender had a prior record, the old crimes mirrored the new charges…these caregivers had been caught victimizing the vulnerable, and went on to do it again.”
If you’d like to sign Mrs. Oakley’s petition, go to
www.change.org/p/california-state-senate-don-t-allow-convicted-felons-who-abuse-our-most-vulnerable-citizens-to-hide-criminal-past

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