Governor Hickenlooper, I am a survivor of Domestic Abuse and Domestic Violence and a victim of the Colorado Judicial System.

During a bad marriage, I was forced to alienate myself from all of my friends, many of whom I met in or before high school. This alienation is only one form of Domestic Abuse. I was constantly accused of infidelity and of flirting with every woman she saw; she even accused me of having affairs during those times when I was taking care of her teenage children in our home; this constant suspicion is another form of Domestic Abuse.

As I was trying to pack and leave Pueblo West, CO, she began throwing things at me, pouring sodas into the bags I was packing, doing everything she could to turn our pets out onto the street, even physically attacking me. At one point, she attacked me from behind with a pair of scissors. Later, she lunged at my throat; in order to protect myself, and to prevent us both from crashing through a glass door behind me, I put out my hand to deflect her lunge.

Because she fell and bruised her knee, I was charged with Domestic Violence. Never mind that I was bleeding from cuts below my left eye from the rings on her hand; she faced no charges whatsoever.

My PD failed to notify me of a court date, so I was greeted by bounty hunters at my doorstep one morning; before we arrived in Pueblo from Omaha, the warrants had been cancelled, so they put me on the streets with not one penny nor and ID in my pockets. The next day, the bondsman showed himself to be totally without scruples: he revoked my bond without cause; I was then jailed with no bond because of the bondsman's immoral action.

During my incarceration, I was assigned four different Public Defenders over the course of six weeks. In order to be released from jail, I was forced to accept two plea deals; my Public Defender and I had met only once, so she was unwilling to pursue acquittal on a police report I never saw.

I have no prior criminal record; I have no prior record of Domestic Violence or Domestic Abuse; even my driving record is clean. But now I'm a criminal; I was denied employment at least 20 times (at over $50,000/year each time) due to my record, and my ex-wife has over $40,000 worth of my household goods and collectibles which I can not recover due to a mandatory protection order.

I'm 58 years old, and I can not believe that I will be carrying this unjust label until I die, while the real aggressor goes unpunished.

Please help me get the justice I deserve; please help me clear my name before I die.