21 Days For Heather

It's something I just can't let go and today I'm hoping that someone will see this post on my obscure little blog and be able to "be the one." In 21 days the ex-husband of Heather Thompson will be released from Federal Prison in Bennettsville, SC and be able to resume a relatively normal life after being incarcerated for the last 14 years for beating her to within an inch of her life. He has had a lot of time to think about how he can fulfill his promise to kill her and her children, and has made numerous threats over the years from prison.

Today Bloggers Unite has declared "Domestic Violence Day" and I hope that by banding together and writing about this epidemic, it will bring awareness to the many who are still trapped in an abusive relationship, men and women alike. While there are agencies and advocates all across the country, many of the abused aren't aware or savvy enough to figure out an escape plan. There is hope and healing available on the other side of abuse, if only the abused can reach out far enough.

In Heather's, and many other cases, all the right steps have been taken, but yet she and her children are not safe. GPS monitoring has been proven to be a useful tool, but in her case, authorities will not violate her abuser's rights by putting one on him at this time. Apparently he has to take a step towards murdering her and her children in order to be eligible. I know, this makes no sense, but is another flaw in the system that re-victimizes the victims.

The public has become immune to stories of fathers brutally murdering their families in the last few months. The news reports cover these stories and all the gory details, and yet there are families grieving the horrendous losses who are raw in their emotions. Please don't let Heather and her family become just another statistic or another news story and then wonder where the system broke down. The system that should protect the rights of the innocents is protecting the rights of the ones who have beaten, battered and killed in hopes that they are rehabilitated in prison and will become productive members of society again. That rarely happens.

The faces of domestic abuse are bloody and bruised, just like Heather's was, but at least she has survived.....so far. Reach out into your community, your church, your neighborhood and become more vigilant. Really look at that woman in the grocery store with the black eye, listen to her and if nothing else, guide her to a shelter or even a website that will get her the information she needs.

Educate yourself about the ways the abused may be helped. There are many organizations and advocates willing to share this information. Susan Murphy Milano has written the "bible" of safety escape procedures in her book "Moving Out, Moving On" and her new book to be released titled "Time's Up". These are important works which lay everything out in a step by step fashion so that abused women don't wind up dead.

Heather Thompson and her children will be living in great fear starting on May 29. She is in dire need of help, publicity, and protection from the man who most likely will make a move to snuff out her life and the lives of her children. Let's hope he is not successful and that Heather is not another entry at Mothers are Vanishing.

Helping Heather

(although Heather Thompson is not a Missing Mother, it's situations like hers that lead to a woman being missing and, in most cases, murdered by her intimate partner)



While her situation is being played out online in a Facebook Group, through messages and emails, Heather Thompson is watching the clock tick.  A survivor of a severe case of domestic violence, Heather is watching her time run out.

Very soon her ex-husband, Thomas Price, Jr., will be paroled from Federal prison.  The same prison from which he sent threats to kill her and her children.  The same prison from which he has had 14 years to think about and plot ways to carry out those threats.

What are the citizens of Charlotte, NC waiting for?  Are they waiting for the next headline news story of a bloodbath, where a woman and her family are murdered?  Are they waiting to see the day's headlines and then turn away to do the dishes?

This is real life for Heather Thompson.

This is real life for her children and family.

This is not just another headline waiting to happen. Or is it?

Yes, there are things that Heather had the opportunity to do with the last 14 years, but she chose to rebuild her life, remarry, have more children and put the past behind her.  But now that past is back to haunt her.  Maybe she should have done some things differently, maybe she should have just left the family and surroundings that she knows and loves and went underground, knowing that this day would come.

Heather chose to be an outspoken spokesperson for domestic violence.  After her brutal attack, billboards were placed around Charlotte, NC so that everyone could see the injuries inflicited upon her and maybe think twice about going home and beating their partner.  Maybe Heather saved a few women that way.

Heather has spent the last 14 years, the years that Tommy Price has been in prison, speaking out for victims, serving on the board of directors of domestic violence groups , and letting women know that there is hope, that their is a way out of a sickening situation.

Heather's hope has run out.  What will it take to save her life?  Is there a safety plan for her?  Is there anywhere she can turn and not live in fear?  Is there any way to keep Tommy Price from snuffing out the lives of his ex-wife and children? What are the odds?

I'm sure Tommy Price has a cheesy grin on his face today, knowing that his actions have stirred up so much controversy.  If there were any way left in our justice system to keep him behind bars, it would be a blessing, but I doubt that is going to happen.

Every day in our country we read about cases where a partner continues to victimize and uses their children as pawns in their game. Child murder and suicide seems to be epidemic. Where is our judicial system in all this?  It is flawed to say the least.

So what can we do to keep Heather Thompson and her family alive?  There aren't many options left. She is at the eleventh hour and there are not too many places left to turn.  If Tommy Price is paroled, Heather Thompson's death cerificate is as good as signed unless drastic measures are taken quickly.

As just a concerned person with no knowledge of the law and how paroles work, I have no answers, but I know with every breath in my being that someone out there knows.

If you have the knowledge and wherewithall to stand up and do something to help Heather, please do it.  Do it quietly, do it behind the scenes, don't announce to the world and pat your own back, just take the ball and run with it.

Please save a life today.



To read about or contact Heather, please read at her group on Facebook

Heather Thompson

Please LOOK at this face.

This is the face of a man who is in Federal Prison in South Carolina and is about to be released soon. His name is Thomas Price, Jr. from Charlotte, NC. What are his charges?

Scroll down and take a look at another picture!

This is what his wife looked like after 18 hours of torture at his hands.

She is not a missing mother, but she is a mother who loves her children and her children love and need her.

Why is this here?

Scroll down.

This is a letter he wrote to her while in prison.

Why is this shocking? He is about to be released soon.

Do you think he will make good on his threats?

Would you take a chance?

What can Heather do to save her life and the lives of her family?

What can YOU do to save Heather's life?

Can you take this blog post everywhere?

If you can take this post to all of the communities you belong to, you CAN make a difference, YOU CAN be involved in saving the life of a mother.

Heather isn't missing.....YET.