What is a 'writ of mandamus'? Well. That is when a higher legal authority sues a lower legal authority for not acting in accordance to the law. In this case, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, the highest legal authority in Illinois, has entered mandamus against Robert Adrian.
So this is really good, really huge news!!
Thank YOU so much for playing a HUGE role in this!!!!!
You may think, "I am just one person who signed one online petition; I am just one small drop in the bucket." WELL BABY, the ocean ain't nothin' but a bunch of water drops. And each and every one of you have set off a tsunami, from where we stand.
If Cammy hadn't told her friends and family, if her family hadn't told the law, if when the law failed them they hadn't told us, if we hadn't told you, if you hadn't told your family and friends....... We are very, very dead serious when we say, this would. not. have. happened.
Because the Vaughan family was exhausted after January 3rd. They were ready to throw in the towel. They felt utterly deflated and defeated. This girl and her family did EVERY single step of the process to seek justice that was available: Cammy woke up her friends in the night to tell them; they told her parents early the next morning; she knew not to shower and went to the hospital to have a 'rape kit' performed; there was plenty of evidence; if anything, the family consoled themselves with having received partial justice when Clinton was ruled guilty on only one of the three counts of assault at the conclusion of the October trial... They fought and fought to get to that January 3rd sentencing hearing, and when Adrian said and did what happened on that day, it broke something inside Cammy, her family, her friends - it broke something inside all of us. The 8th Circuit Court of Illinois, Adams County, was comfortable leaving things broken.
But not us.
Not you.
These people knew they were breaking Cammy.
They just didn't have the slightest clue what they were unleashing.
And now, because of you, Cammy has the renewed strength to continue fighting. It's our sincere hope we ALL keep fighting for what is true and just. We are not going to declare this cause a victory until some real, true changes have been put into place.
And if you or someone you know needs help, we hope you tell someone. We hope those people believe you. If they don't, tell someone else. Never stop telling people until you find the person who hears you. It shouldn't be as hard as it is sometimes, but sometimes it is hard. If you don't know anyone personally who you feel comfortable telling, here are some resources:
1-800-656-4673
https://hotline.rainn.org/online
https://1in6.org/
(FOR MEN)
National Sexual Violence Resource Center's
Directory of Organizations