y Jackie Mundry . . . In 2006, William Elliot was sought out and shot because he was a registered sex offender. On Sunday, he will be honored by the Maine chapter of Parents of Murdered Children.
His mother, Shirley Turner, says he was on this list because he had consensual sex with an underage girlfriend.
“But he was 19 when he got involved with a young girl and ended up on the Maine sex offender registry,” she said.
I empathize with William’s family. In 2008 I was 21 and I was convicted under a similar statute to William, triggering 10-year registration in Maine. I know my fate could have been the same.
My twenties consisted of years of hate groups targeting me and actively encouraging public vigilantism against me. I was in fear for my life and filed several federal lawsuits and obtained a protection from harassment order against the primary hate group. I nonetheless feel fortunate I was never subjected to physical violence.
Nearly a decade later, as I count down my remaining 6 months on Maine’s registry, I reflect on how William could have been me or any of us. And that we can never take anything for granted, especially given the everchanging face of the registry.
As long as there is any kind of registry, we are all at risk, and it’s why I am committed to this fight whether I’m on the list or not. We must remember those we have lost and continue forward, for our own sake, for those before us, and, perhaps most importantly, for the freedom and safety of future generations.