Hi my name is Christine Payne,

I am asking for signatures today on my behalf because we are all human and make mistakes in our lives. But we should not be punished for the rest of our lives because of ONE mistake. 

I am here to tell you my story back in 1998.  I was an eight-teen year old and full of life when suddenly everything changed on one dark night.   I came home from Toppenish Washington to Aloha Oregon where i lived and when i walked in to find that my parents hired a babysitter ( one of my little sisters friend's) and my then run away sister and 3 of her gang affiliated friends whom which were  all were trespassing  in my parents home while my parents were away for the night.

I walk in to my mothers home and two of  the three trespasser's were known to law enforcement as gang members and the other  trespasser's well she was the drug supplier for these people.  The babysitter tells me she tried crank for the 1st time  that night as powder substance sits on the table and a smoking pipe with in reach of a child and she is High on this while babysitting my then 6 year old brother.

I ask all of them too leave.   The female drug dealer quickly walks towards the front door; however my mother's home is L shaped and the stairs leading up to the bedrooms were by the stairs and the front door.  The guys laugh at me stand up grab the pipe and instead attempting to  leave they start to go upstairs; instead of leaving as asked.  These guys were alot bigger than i, I was maybe 125 pounds at 5'3".  I was out numbered and feeling threatened.  I again ask the guys to leave and yet they were still not taking me seriously.

The phone rings and i answered it fairly quickly and it just happened to be my dad calling and checking in with the babysitter and i just happened to answer and explain what is going on.  He gave me a direct order to get these people out of his home. So i put him on hold and went in to the kitchen and yelled again at the guys to leave for the third time.   Again not taking me seriously i threatened to grab a knife.  I did however have a pocket knife on the counter in plain sight right by me hoping they would take me serisouly.  They did and i escorted them out.

Thinking everyone is gone;  my dad still on the phone, he says try and keep your sister there but she refused and went out side with these guys. I went back in and had my back turned to the stairs and was on the phone explaining i could not get her in and that everyone was high off of this drug and i was explaining how i was upset that my brother could of gotten in to this stuff and there was a pipe on the table still smoking.  He said well go make sure the house is locked up and i told him to hold on once again. 

I come in from closing the garage doors and locking up the house, i come back to the phone and again my back turned towards the stairs and i get back on the phone and all of a sudden i hear something behind me and as i turned around it's the drug dealer in the house still after an hour.  Apparently she went upstairs and was stealing items from me and my sister and this whole time i thought she was out of the house. 

She came down with a wooden Dael in her hands and i told my dad to hold and i asked her why she was still in the house an hour later and she attempted to hit me with the wooden Dael and i knocked it out of her hands and i went rounds with her.  There was a few punches thrown at each other and i asked her and pleaded with her to get out!   I thought for half a second maybe if i did whay i did with the guys and grab something to scare her with maybe she will leave too.

So instead of grabbing a knife, like i did with the guys and set it on the counter, i then  grabbed a cheese cutter in the shape of a meat cleaver but much smaller, not intended for cutting anything but cheese.   Well she attempted to take it from my hands by grabbing the blade as i am trying to push her out of the door and it cut her.

I finally get her to leave and it wasn't until i came back in and realized that i cut her in the house so i got back on the phone with my dad.  I then explained what just had happened and i told him i needed to call the police so we hung up and i called the police.

The babysitter goes to bed shortly afterwards. Four and a half hour later the police officer shows up and i explained what happened, showed him proof of where i was and the officer took down part of my story but did not add the whole story in his report other than, i just that i attacked her when i didn't.  I was defending my self in my mothers household. 

He then wants to question the high babysitter and wakes her up and then questioned her if she was on drugs  as he shines a flash light in her dialted eyes and she denys it to him but he did not investigate her any further.  The officer arrested me with my hands in the front of me and sent me to jail that morning and released in a couple of hours.

Im not calling anyone out in this situation other than there was a mistake not reported on paper and not by me. Again we all make mistakes. Although he knew i was looking at a measure 11 sentence, he charged me with assault in the 3rd degree so i could go home that night.   Later on i was sentenced, booked and two weeks later released on bail and on house arrest for seven months in which i followed orders again with no problems.

I do admit i made a foolish mistake and i have paid dearly for my actions.  I had never been in trouble before this incident or after but i almost served a minimum of 6 years on a measure 11 charge. I took the plea deal of attempted assault in the first degree. So that i wouldnt sit in prison for six years.

If i had taken it to trial and if i had lost, i would have to serve six years in prison and during that incident i found out i was pregnant and i wasn't willing to risk losing my child to my own stupidity. So after the plea deal i served two months after my daughter was born, fines paid in full and time served with a three year probation sentence.  Might i add i have 3 letters from my old  probation officer at that time on how well i did and she wishes more people who make mistakes could follow rules like i did.

  I have tried to expunge my record but because of the class of felony that it is, it is not  even expungeable through the courts, the judge said ;if he could do it ,he would have granted they expungement.

I have also tried to apply for a pardon because eleven years later i still do not have any parking tickets, traffic violations or any run In's with the law.  I learned my lesson and from  that day forward; i have learned  to think before i react or maybe calling the police as needed.

I have turned my life around, i now am a mother of three children and i own my own home, i held a job up until this last year.  I have been a Girl scout troop leader and volunteered at a horse ranch for disabled children.  I volunteer in my community and made significant changes and still to this day am not good enough to get a second chance at a regular life.  I was denied for a pardon twice.   

I made one mistake in my teen years that has ruined my life.  I am not a criminal, criminals keep coming back, i just made a really bad decision that i can not take back but live everyday reminded that i can not get a state or federal job or sign up for the military to better my or my families life or to serve our country and to this day it is still very hard to find a job ;who will not judge me by paper with the title a convicted felon!

I am Thirty one years old. I think by now i know better and would never do something  so juvenile as i did back when i was eight-teen years old.

I know i did something terrible although i have learned from it, i feel i do not deserve a life of punishment.   If you agree please sign my petition.  

Thank you in advance.