Our daughter Sierra Landry was killed by her abusive ex-boyfriend. An Order of Protection could have saved her life, but according to South Carolina law, she was too young to get one. We’re asking the South Carolina legislature to create “Sierra’s Law,” which would allow people under 18 to get Orders of Protection from abusive partners.
Sierra was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Tanner Crolley, 18, from Lancaster, SC. The whole relationship was toxic from the beginning. Crolley was controlling, physically/mentally abusive and very manipulative. Every time Sierra left Crolley he would find a way to stalk and harass her. He would continually call her phone, leave messages on Facebook making her feel like everything was her fault, and ride by our home over and over again.
Sierra finally decided she had enough. We were so relieved and so excited that Sierra had ended the relationship she had with Crolley. We were planning a new path in life as a family and for her. But Crolley began calling our home, cussing at us, threatening us, and demanding to speak with Sierra. He would drive by our home every day. No matter where Sierra went, it seemed Crolley was there or not far behind. Sierra would tell Crolley to leave her alone and that they were over, but Crolley would never take “NO” for an answer.
On Monday, December 30, 2013, Crolley told her "If you can’t love me, you will not love anyone!" and shot her in the face and left her to die in a stranger’s yard. We not only lost our daughter, but a lost a piece of us as well.
According to Breakthecycle.org, South Carolina has some of the weakest laws about teen dating violence in the U.S. – reports give us the grade of “F”. South Carolina laws exclude those under the age of 18 who are in dating relationships from accessing Orders for Protection (OP)s, which can save the lives of dating and domestic violence victims.
Sierra’s Law would make the following important changes:
- Orders of Protection would be available to minors 16 years of age and older without parental or guardian consent, however parents or guardian will be notified within a 24 hour period; minors under the age of 16 are allowed to obtain an OP with parental or guardian consent. This applies to all people in dating relationships, including same-sex couples
- Abusers with a history of domestic violence will be placed on a registry for publication and acknowledgement to the community and state.
- Abusers of teen dating violence will not be eligible for pre trial intervention or combined with any other charges.
- Include Teen Dating Violence Awareness as a part of the sexual education program schools offer.
Please, join us in fighting for Sierra’s Law to make sure what happened to Sierra never happens to another young person in South Carolina.
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