very, very unpopular clients, just as they did in the South

Abuse Under the Watch of Oregon's Justice System

A victim's first scream is for help; a victim's second scream is for justice." - Coral Anika Theill

Cover of BONSHEA

(SALEM, Ore.) - Just when you thought you knew what was going on in your community, here comes a story that just may shatter the security of your American Dream. This is a story about abuse, survival, false religion and dubious court systems in a state that may be advanced on some levels, but sometimes proves to be a miserable failure in terms of equity and fairness and conventional thinking.

It is the saga of an Oregon woman whose attempt to seek justice for marital rape and physical abuse would not only result in no prosecution, but lead to threats that she would be charged with crimes if her allegations continued.

For me, it is an opportunity to bring to the surface one of the most important subjects I have ever visited in my career; that is domestic violence. I have always held the lowest opinion of men who abuse women, especially those who parade as impeccable members of their communities.

I believe this even more after covering the war in Afghanistan last winter. This is the epitome of a culture that uses religion as an excuse to mistreat females. Life overall is harder for women in Afghanistan in every respect, and their ability to rise up and defend themselves or find answers is greatly diminished by the extensive religion-based abuse.

And the same problem exists in Oregon.

The story of Coral Anika Theill is possibly one of the most flagrant, outrageous examples of small town injustice in America. In her book, she describes herself as a woman who suffered unmentionable abuse at the hands of her churchgoing husband. She is still living in fear to this day, spending the balance of her life in a secret, undisclosed location.

Her ordeal came to light in 1995 when Coral filed for a restraining order against her husband, who she says raped her repeatedly. A hearing for charges of Marital rape and a restraining order hearing was held in January 1996.

The restraining order was overturned by a visiting judge. Coral then lost her children in a 3 day temporary custody hearing in March 1996.

A final divorce hearing was held in October 1996. At that point her money was gone, and she was fighting attorneys with questionable ethics that were paid for with deep pockets. The divorce was final in March 1997. Coral officially lost all of her children to the man she says raped her and abused her.

She filed marital rape charges again in March 1999 both in Polk County and Wasco Counties in Oregon. Charges were dropped by both counties.

She said she was ridiculed about a nervous/mental breakdown she suffered as a result of the abuse. She was told in both counties that prosecutors did not believe a jury would convict a husband of rape. Coral says one D.A. didn't even want to waste the time having my case investigated.

She has written letters to various state officials but says they generally bring little response. Those individuals include District Attorney John Fisher, former Governor Kitzhaber and the office of Attorney General Hardy Meyers.

Just last month, Attorney General Hardy Meyer's office told Coral that any complaint about how things were handled would have to go through the Oregon State Bar, that no one could do anything.

She says she has gone that route before, with the Oregon State Bar, to no avail. Dark crimes in a small town

It all happened in the town of Independence, Oregon and one of the main people who steered the course of Coral's story is the Polk County District Attorney, John Fisher.

She says that when she initially filed the marital rape charges, she still believed the system was real.

Coral during a book signing in Dallas, Oregon Courtesy: Eagle Newspapers

Coral was raised in the same conservative, American traditional sense that has led countless women into unfortunate circumstances. Many of them have suffered similar tragic events throughout their married lives. Marital rape is a seldom discussed subject, but communities that over-program people, particularly women, with the importance of subservient respect can lead them down very long, dark paths. I always think of the Oregon serial killer Jerry Brudos who at least one time, simply "ordered" a young woman to get into his car. She did, and after a horrific kidnapping, torture, and rape she was murdered.

But she was a "good girl" who did what she was told.

I've got news for women, there is no such thing. Any one raised in a household that puts a higher emphasis on mindless obedience than critical thinking, is in a dangerous place, no matter how many Normal Rockwell paintings decorate the walls.

Coral says she was "groomed" to accept abuse and violence from the time she was a young girl, as many life-long victims attest to. In her book, BONSHEA, she reveals how she had no other reference in life. As a young child she saw that abusers were embraced and protected. For Coral, there was no help, nowhere to go and no one to tell.

"I learned at an early age to accept and survive abuse. This was the role I was expected to play. Sadly, as an adult, I have discovered the rules of this game have not changed much. My abusers, still, are embraced and protected. I realize now that I am getting too old and worn out to 'play' this game any longer. Recently, I looked deep inside for the 'tough girl' to help me survive another episode of violence and abuse-but sadly, I could not find her. She was all used up. She was gone. Long-term abuse had left my senses blunted. I felt numb." After experiencing forty years of violence and abuse in her personal life, Coral went to Oregon's courts and asked for protection from her abusive husband.

Speaking out worked against her though, and her inability to endure an abusive marriage any longer was portrayed in a way that damaged her credibility, challenging her mental stability and ability to care for her own children.

"Nothing had prepared me for the horrors that I would experience in what we call Oregon's justice and legal system. On March 10th, 1996, I was forced by an order of the Court, and by my ex-husband, his attorney, his family and religious supporters, to do something that raged against my good conscience, my common sense and against all my motherly instincts."

After the temporary custody hearing, a Court Order signed by Judge Albin Norblad forcibly removed Coral's access to her nursing baby and young children.

"I obeyed the Court Order and gave my baby and children over to my ex-husband. I drove to the hospital, rented a breast-pump and later collapsed in shock. I could not understand what had happened or why. I have not yet recovered from the shock, perhaps I never will."

The rights of abuse victims have evolved in recent decades in most places. The state of Oregon has severe laws against a number of sex crimes. But by this example, in Polk County, enforcing the law by prosecuting marital rape cases is apparently not seen as a worthy pursuit.

Coral says the church is an instrument that her husband used against her. As another Mother's Day passes, she has no contact with her eight children. She says her husband, described by several people involved in her case as a dishonest, overbearing religious zealot, has programmed their children to be resentful toward her, continually casting her as something that she is not.

In Coral's view, her husband's actions are anything but Christian. According to Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D. who is an internationally recognized scholar, "A culture that requires harm to one's soul in order to follow the culture's proscriptions is a very sick culture indeed."

Coral says that was in fact the case for her. "By obeying the Orders of the Court, I betrayed my soul, my children and myself. I was forced to make a choice that no mother should ever be forced to make. The price for my own safety and freedom was an imposed, unnatural and unwanted separation from my eight children."

She says the injustice committed against her is not only the physical separation from her children, but the willful desecration of the mother-child relationship and bond, "A sacred spiritual and emotional entity."

Taking children from their mother is abuse in itself, she says, giving the advantage once again to the abuser.

"Forcibly taking a mother's children, and then controlling her emotionally by withholding contact must be publicly recognized as one of the greatest forms of "mis-use" of the American justice system and one of the greatest hidden vehicles for wide-spread socially approved physical and emotional abuse and control."

In the book "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" Dr. Sam Vaknin talks about abusers who use their charm and connections to gain favorable attention in a courtroom, "Even the victim's relatives, friends, and colleagues are amenable to the considerable charm, persuasiveness, and manipulativeness of the abuser and to his impressive thespian skills." Vaknin says the abuser offers a plausible rendition of the events and interprets them to his favor. Nobody except the abuser and the victim know what actually happens behind closed doors. In contrast, the victims are often on the verge of a nervous breakdown: harassed, unkempt, irritable, impatient, abrasive, and hysterical. In short, they don't make a very good impression. "Confronted with this contrast between a polished, self-controlled, and suave abuser and his harried casualties - it is easy to reach the conclusion that the real victim is the abuser... The prey's acts of self-defense, assertiveness, or insistence on her rights are interpreted as aggression, lability, or a mental health problem."

For an abuser, manipulating that dynamic for the benefit of a judge's favor can give incredible advantages in a court situation. This was used against Coral, she says, and it is used against many other women as well.

A growing list of experts support Coral Theill

Professionals around the country are increasingly tuning in to Coral Theill's story. Advocates for eradicating domestic violence applaud her work to empower change.

Anna Goldreyer of N.O.W., who has known Coral for four years, watched the story unfold. She commented on the many obstacles Coral's husband, his lawyers and church allies created, which included one simple factor; more money.

"Another game is initiating years of ongoing litigation that can bankrupt the target or drive her to homelessness or disability. In the family court system, when you run out of money, you lose. For Coral and many others, continuing to receive court papers and have extremely frivolous repeated actions initiated by their abuser from which they cannot protect themselves, can really become a form of legal stalking." Goldreyer pulls few punches when talking about the effects of domestic abuse, "Even when judges or court personnel are required to educate themselves in domestic violence issues, which is rare enough, we find that the education is simply not correct or sufficient. Actions like giving Coral's story and similar stories a platform will help people begin to understand that this is real, it is happening to people in every state, and awareness and education is what is needed to change this."

Many people say that everything happens for a reason. It appears that Coral's reason, however unfair it may be, is to go forth and bring about change. It is difficult to speak up after a life of abuse, but her courage to do so is an inspiration to women also living in unfortunate conditions. Coral she has mastered her ability to speak out, particularly in the written sense.

"I wish to become an advocate for change in the judicial system. Gandhi says, 'We must be the change we wish to see in the world.' I believe each one of us is responsible for the entire world. The ongoing trauma I have experienced in Oregon's judicial system has encouraged me to ask difficult questions. I have asked myself, ‘What does the human spirit need in order to heal and move on?' They need a place to share their pain and be acknowledged, they need compassion, they need to know that they (and others) will be protected from their perpetrator, they need accountability-someone to hold the perpetrator accountable, they need restitution or material compensation for the losses incurred by the victim, and they need vindication (not revenge)-to be set free. Scars remain, but healing is sufficient so as not to continue to be held in bondage to the trauma. When there is no justice, there is truly no healing."

Coral analogizes her position to a passage in the "Lord of the Rings" when the warrioress says, "I fear no pain or death."

"The warrior asks her, 'What do you fear?' She answers, 'I fear the cage.'

"I have asked myself, 'What is the cage in my life?' The cage is living in a society that allows the violence I have experienced to continue. The cage in my life is ongoing court trauma and legal harassment from my ex-husband."

She says marital abuse evolved into legal abuse, a form of legal stalking. In America, money often buys justice. "Although I have been legally divorced for ten years, I hope and pray that someday I will truly be emancipated from my abuser."

Coral says she cares about individuals who have also fallen through the judicial cracks of America, like juveniles, homeless, the mentally ill, veterans, prisoners, and victims of domestic violence. "I have learned that if you really want to know about our justice system in America, you do not question the judges, police, attorneys and lawmakers, you go to the victims, the unprotected, the vulnerable; those who need the laws protection the most and listen to their stories. A victim's first scream is for help; a victim's second scream is for justice."

Dr. Barbara May Ph.D, Professor of Nursing, regards Coral's story as one of the most obscene and violent domestic violence cases she has seen in her 25 years of psychiatric practice. BONSHEA has been used as a college text at Linfield College in Oregon, for nursing students studying domestic violence, recovery from trauma and legal stalking. "I recommend this book for health care providers, those in the criminal justice system, and volunteers or helpers of any kind to get insights and clarity about the complex dynamics of domestic violence and its toxic effects to individuals and society - and what needs to be done to eradicate this pandemic problem."

This survivor says one solution to stepping out of the cage is to seek empowerment through education, and the subsequential use of one's education to help raise awareness of violence and injustice in our society. Coral Theill says that if violence cannot be talked about, it cannot be stopped.

"From the injustice I have experienced, I wish to make a difference in this journey we call life. A single pebble affects an entire ocean."

"Indifference encourages, 'silent violence' -the type of violence I experienced in my home, in the community, religious circles and judicial system. Nobel laureate, Elie Wiesel states, 'The indifference to suffering makes the human inhumane.'"

John Haroldson, District Attorney, Benton County, Oregon District Attorney, said this in his review of Coral's book, "In BONSHEA, Coral Theill has clearly chosen to take a courageous stand. It is a stand that comes with a cost, but whose dividends are measured in the strength of the soul." The staff of Salem-News.com is proud to use Coral Theill's work as a cornerstone of our quest to help reduce and even eradicate domestic violence in Oregon.

The news media has more than put its guard down when it comes to domestic abuse and the people who dedicate their lives to fighting and exposing it are nothing less than unsung heroes. Perhaps the day will come when the nation declares a "War on Domestic Violence" in place of the millions spent on programs such as the failed drug war.

What needs to happen to change this?

Transparency is what police need to strive toward. Anyone paying attention to national trends is seeing the increased scrutiny of police, courts and prosecutors in national media. This trend will continue as the pendulum swings back from the far right.

Rape is a crime, violence is a crime, and in the near future victims are going to again become the focus of our efforts as a country that in spite of its appearance, still largely knows the difference between wrong and right.

Coral's list of advocates is growing and we hope this story allows this loose-knit but well directed group to eventually achieve its goals on behalf of Coral Theill.

First, they say, the state of Oregon should step in and see that her Child Support requirement is revoked.

Second, she asks that her ex-husband pay restitution for Child Support she paid that should not have been required. That amount at this point comes out to about $42,000, which would seriously aid in the promotion of her book, already in use all over the world as a domestic violence education tool.

The group believes that by leveling the right amount of awareness, that they could see Judge Albin W. Norblad removed from the judge's bench permanently.

They seek to raise public awareness of what they call Polk County District Attorney John Fisher's inadequacy in failing to prosecute a man who committed rape.

They also want to see public awareness of Judge Paula Brownhill's record by exposing 2003, 2004 and 2006 court hearings when she denied Coral a phone hearing, fully knowing that Coral could not be present because the attorneys and court proceedings leading up to the hearing had stripped her of all financial resources.

She also wants to see justice served in the case of an Oregon doctor who she says breeched client confidentiality in 1998-1999 by giving personal client information and phone number to a predator/con artist/batterer.

Coral says she was stalked, threatened, abused, financially robbed of $150,000 in legal costs, and then beaten and strangled, during an attempted murder incident in August 2000.

More of Coral's story will be revealed over time and victims are encouraged to use our comment section to seek answers for their own problems. All comments on Salem-News.com are approved by our staff and nobody has to leave their name. I can't guarantee that Coral Theill will be able to answer every question, but collectively we will do our best to refer people to the right resources to help them out of a bad environment if that is what they need.

You can visit the BONSHEA: Making Light of the Dark Website: bonshea.com Other Internet sites Coral recommends include: mothersoflostchildren.com and lizlibrary.org

BONSHEA is purchased online at: iUniverse.com http://amazon.com and barnesnandnoble.com and has received 12 five star reviews, and a writer's award from iUniverse Publishing. The National Domestic Violence Resource Center in Pennyslvania previewed BONSHEA and is recommending it as a survivor story.

You can also find BONSHEA: Making Light of the Dark by Coral Anika Theill at the Salem, Corvallis, Albany, Independence, Monmouth and Linn Benton and Chemeketa Community Colleges. Copies are also available at Borders Bookstore in Corvallis, Oregon.

Thank you SO MUCH for having the courage to write and print this article. For me also, it is another Mother's day without my children. I divorced because of rape, and went through the horrors of the so-called legal system. I have seven children. After six years of custody litigation, the judge gave the father full legal and physical custody of my 4 younger ones, after he received a notarized letter from the father's sister, detailing the rapes she had been subjected to by him during eight years, while growing up. My practice has been destroyed four times (no money = no attorney), I had to abandon three homes, I was jailed for 6 months because my kids ran away from their abuser, my oldest (24) was jailed for her stand against the father, who also put his 15-year old into a mental hospital because she was arguing with him. We are still trying to rescue the three younger ones (12, 14 and 16), who ran away twice, and were forced back with the abuser. They are hungry, and live under constant threats. The father is suing his oldest daughter for attorney fees, and me for his stalking expenses. Check the stories of many children on www.courageouskids.net. Thank you again.

We have to ask ourselves: why does America hate women? Don't tell me it is worse in other countries. Don't tell me women have it better than before. Red herrings, all. We are an abusive, dysfunctional country and it begins with male adulation especially in the church, but in the cancer of the courts, the law, and the schools. Never ever stop filing bar complaints. Make web sites, write ebooks. Corruption hides in dark corners. No oversight, more rape of every kind. Out the abusers, shine light on them.

I am glad to see Coral's important, and sadly, not unique, story being given publicity on this Mother's Day. Mothers around the country are being punished and bankrupted in the family courts, losing custody of their children, and being punished for seeking a divorce. The rhetoric of gender neutrality coupled with the rise of lucrative notions of "therapeutic jurisprudence" has resulted in widespread abuses and injustice. I would like to note for readers who are interested that the liz library website can be found at "thelizlibrary.org" (the article missed the "the").

Dear Tim King, Read your piece Abuse Under the Watch of Oregon's Justice System A victim's first scream is for help; a victim's second scream is for justice." - Coral Anika Theill That all sounds very familiar to me. While the State of Oregon and the City of Salem may have equal rights protection laws, the Salem area community willfully violated them. They are a society that deliberately forces one to move by means of defamation whispering and gossip campaigns, coded messaging war propaganda, heresy religious media, "conservative fascist talk radio, and even the main stream media did it all of which are a from of developmental genocide-bullying, rape, it's the abuse you wrote about perpetrated by women by the way. Repeatedly, I pointed it out to business leaders, City, State, and Federal officials-they did nothing to end the tyranny. Today, I'm living in the town my very good parents raised us kids--Doylestown, PA. For the greater part, the people here treat me with kindness and respect. The Salem society treated me as a second-class citizen-for that I will never forgive them. The life long dream was to live remotely left the hell alone in Washington, Montana, Idaho or some other very rural mountainous or high desert states. Oregon offers such areas of peace and tranquility uninhabited areas where one can be left alone. The Salem area tyranny shattered those dreams and I am an older person now. I wanted to be young experiencing those adventures-your society has irreparably destroyed my life, retirement, and personal vision of the American dream. Still waiting for justice while You live in a criminal society-good luck to you all.

Thank you Tim King for the courage to write this story, when so many other reporters shy away from exposing domestic abuse, familial child abuse, and and governmental abuse. Please go to stopfamilyviolence.org and read about many similar stories documented in a complaint filed on Friday May 11 against the United States of America to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. This is a monumental effort to hold our government accountable for what can legitimately be termed "judicial terrorism." Thousands of children will be deprived of seeing their PERFECTLY FIT mothers this Mother's Day because they are trapped with custodial abusers, who separate them from their mothers to hurt the women they victimized. These moms will not get a phone call or even a card from their children because the abusers will not allow the children to show any love, affection, or respect for their mothers. In these cases American family courts are an arm of the offender, causing life long trauma to both mother and child, as these courts perpetuate the cycle of violence. Perhaps you would consider doing a story on the human rights complaint to further expose how widespread legal aubse of women and children who are victims of family violence really is in this country.

I, too, suffered domestic abuse. And although I had modest resources at my disposal, I chose to concentrate on divorce and distancing rather than bringing the man to justice for his abuse. I was a respectable woman in the community and I did not want the unfavorable attention that abused women always seem to attract. But now I get occasional phone messages from lawyers' offices, looking for my ex-husband... what has he done now? What might I have prevented if I had been possessed of the single-minded courage Coral expresses? (FYI - my abuser was a Vietnam era ex-Marine, who sometimes commented that the military had "flipped some switches in me" and never told him how to turn them off again. My heart aches for the Iraq-era wives and children...) Thank you for printing this article.

I'm appalled that this is still going on in Oregon. When I sought an attorney in 1973 for marital rape I was told that 'women were their husband's chattel and they could do as they wished'. I guess it was a good thing we didn't have much money for the deep pocketed lawyers and my ex-husband was lazy. After a brief custody hassle which taught him that children need more attention than dogs, I got my son back and our divorce was granted for 'irreconcilable differences'. A stranger would have been jailed for the way my husband who vowed to 'love, honor, and cherish' treated me. So much for the sanctity of marriage. Bah!

Outstanding Piece! I hope this story becomes the fan that fires justice into action. ALL abusers in Coral's case - and in all such cases - must be held accountable.... To forcibly separate a mother from her children, including a nursing baby is nothing less than a spiritual crime. No man, no person, has any right to come between a mother and the children she has carried and birthed. It is, as Coral so perfectly put it, "a sacred spiritual and emotional entity" Don't for a minute think that each and every one of her children won't carry with them the deepest of pain, perhaps unrecognizable as such, for years to come. So many lives harmed... by Mr. Warner, by the Dr's, by our very own male dominated system of justice. Thank you Mr. King. Particularly on "Mother's Day" - you could not have offered a higher tribute to mothers the world over.