‘Jessica’s Law’ moving through Legislature
By Allen Palmeri
Staff Writer
March 22, 2005
JEFFERSON CITY – Senate Bill 37, “Jessica’s Law,” has cleared committee and is positioned to be approved by the full Senate thanks to the work of Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, the sponsor, and Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“Jessica’s Law” would make first-degree involuntary manslaughter in Missouri a Class A felony instead of a Class C felony if a blood alcohol level that is at least one and a half times the legal limit is involved or if a fatality occurs when a person’s vehicle leaves a public road.
Both of those conditions were present last July 30 when Jessica Mann, 7, and her grandfather, James Dodson, were killed by a drunk driver near Joplin. The driver, Edward Meerwald of Noel, was sentenced to the maximum 14 years in prison under current Missouri law. If “Jessica’s Law” is approved by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Matt Blunt, judges could sentence drunk drivers to 30 years or even life for similar crimes.
“When someone kills another person through the abuse of alcohol, according to the Bible they must pay the price,” said Kerry Messer, lobbyist, Missouri Baptist Convention’s Christian Life Commission.
Mike Mann, Jessica’s father, asked Nodler to sponsor the bill, and Nodler turned to his fellow senator, Bartle, who is an attorney, for help with the language. On Jan. 24, when Mann was preparing to testify before his committee, Bartle, a deacon at First Baptist Church, Raytown, personalized the setting.
“Matt said, ‘Before we start, I want you to know that I’ve been praying for your family since I heard about this, and we may continue now,’” Mann said. “Pretty much a hush came over the Judiciary Committee, and then I proceeded to read my comments very slow and methodical. I think there were a couple of senators who just about couldn’t make it. They were about to break down.
“Everybody was basically in shock. They didn’t know what to say or do.”
Messer said it is obvious what they should do. They should pass the bill.
“It is time for the state of Missouri to recognize that the damage caused by the abuse of alcohol is the No. 1 social problem in this state,” he said. “It far exceeds every single illicit drug combined.”