Abuse Gattis Suffered Argues for Clemency

By Sister Maureen Paul Turlish
News Journal
January 13, 2012

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120113/OPINION09/201130322/Abuse-Gattis-suffered-argues-clemency?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Opinion|p

Delaware is scheduled to execute Robert Gattis on Jan. 20. Mr. Gattis admitted he killed Shirley Slay in May of 1990. He has petitioned for clemency in part because of the repeated sexual abuse he suffered as a child, beginning as early as age 3.

Experts have called the abuse "catastrophic" and found that it caused profound psychological damage that was directly linked to Mr. Gattis' impaired thinking and behavior on the day of the tragic killing.

Questions have arisen about the truthfulness of Mr. Gattis' sexual abuse claim because he did not report the abuse sooner. I write to answer those questions.

As a member of the Voice of the Faithful and a founding member of the National Survivor Advocates Coalition, organizations dedicated to supporting individuals who were sexually abused as children, I know what experts in the field have all acknowledged: Sexual abuse survivors, particularly men, are extremely reluctant to disclose their abuse.

In addition, others have testified to the truth of Mr. Gattis' background. Family members admitted to molesting Mr. Gattis, to a family history of incest and molestation, and to a family attitude of indifference and tolerance towards the sexual abuse of children. Two nationally recognized experts found that Mr. Gattis was abused and that the abuse was among the worst they had ever encountered. Finally, one year before the murder, Mr. Gattis reported to a psychiatric worker that at the age of nine he was being regularly raped by a close relative.

The sexual abuse Mr. Gattis suffered was profound. It was a factor that contributed to the violent, senseless killing of Ms. Slay. It does not excuse his crime, but I believe that it should temper the punishment. I ask the Board of Pardons and Gov. Markell to grant clemency and commute Mr. Gattis' sentence to life without the possibility of parole.

Sister Turlish is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, an educator and an advocate for victims of childhood sexual abuse.