Silent Witness Ceremony Honored 2011 Victims of Fatal Domestic Violence

Ceremony Held During First Week Of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Attorney General Alan Wilson led participants through the annual Silent Witness Domestic Violence ceremony Tuesday on the south steps of the State House in Columbia. The event marked the first week of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

During the solemn ceremony, Attorney General Wilson called the names of 39 women and 13 men from across the state who lost their lives as the result of domestic violence in the previous year.

Victims’ family members, friends, or volunteers carried a life-sized silhouette representing the victim to the State House steps as a bell was rung for each victim.  An additional fifty-third (53^rd) silhouette represented the potential unknown victims.

“This is a sad and solemn occasion to commemorate the lives that were lost in the past year to

domestic violence,” said Wilson.

“This is a cycle of violence that must be broken in our state,” said Wilson.  “All too often, not only is the life of the victim lost, but in ways, we lose the children who grow up in a home where domestic violence is taking place.”

Domestic violence survivors, officials and victims’ advocates made special remarks to highlight the problem of violence against women.

A statistical breakdown for each county is available at http://www.scattorneygeneral.com/fraud/cdv/index.html .

Silent Witness Roll Call

Please Click on the individual names for additional information

Lawrence Branham, Abbeville County

Esther Baldwin,  Aiken County

Angela Myers, Aiken County

Pearlie Mae Russell, Allendale County

Holly Ford, Anderson County

Allison Pinsley, Anderson County

Kacy Roberson, Anderson County

Shalesha Williams, Berkeley County

Amanda Black, Charleston County

Desma Doctor, Charleston County

Robin Thomas, Cherokee County

Foyest Caple, Chesterfield County

Diane Louallen, Chesterfield County

Christina Hughes, Colleton County

Barrett Stephenson, Edgefield County

Devin Ham, Florence County

Lilia Blandin, Greenville County

Angela Carver, Greenville County

Allison Cross, Greenville County

Marsha Smith, Greenville County

Juan Tafoya-Gonzalez, Greenville County

Yolanda Thurston, Greenville County

Kaybreisha Timpson, Greenwood County

Masako Yamaguchi-Miller, Hampton County

Cheryl Gillespie, Horry County

Marsella Lippert, Horry County

Elizabeth Evans, Kershaw County

Nancy Stone, Kershaw County

Nicole Kingsborough, Laurens County

Margaret Constance, Lexington County

Amanda Peake, Lexington County

Charnel Redden, Lexington County

Victoria Tindall, Lexington County

Takeyia Easterling, Marlboro County

John Mayers, Newberry County

Lynette Glover, Orangeburg County

Mark Hendricks, Pickens County

Joann Bobo-Hill, Richland County

Oppie Jackson, Richland County

Henry Jones, Richland County

Amanda Kistler-Jarrard, Richland County

Larry Ross, Richland County

Gary Vereen, Richand County

Brenda Witherspoon, Richland County

Chaconia Culbreath, Saluda County

Tony Rosser, Saluda County

Barbara Perry, Spartanburg County

Rosemary Lee, Union County

Linda Dixon, York County

Linda Hertzog, York County

Michael Howe, York County

Shrece Robinson, York County

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Domestic Violence affects us all. Domestic Violence cuts across gender, race, and ethnicity. People in every socioeconomic status experience this type of violence. Domestic violence victims are all around us: in our neighborhoods, our work places, and in our places of worship.