A bill in the Monana Legislature would bring an enhanced penalty for an offense against a vulnerable person at a caregiver facility.
The motivation for Senate Bill 296 came from an incident in Billings about a year ago, and if passed, it would be called Alan's law.
Alan Wright was beaten by a group home worker last February.
"There are a subpopulation of people that they enjoy hurting people," said Calvin Calton, Residential Support Services (RSS) executive director. "They are career predators."
Calton says RSS close the home where the homicide happened was closed.
"The person who died in our services, he was not only nonverbal, he had the IQ of about of a 2-year-old," Calton said. "And he was non Verbal to the extent he couldn't cry for help."
Dante Garriot, who was 19 at the time, will soon go to trial for deliberate homicide in the death of Wright, who was 37.
Calton says background checks do not always reveal past offenses.
That would change if SB 296 becomes law.
"Without this law, someone could abuse someone and go to court, plead down as a misdemeanor, be released, and then they go working in another location because there's no record, no felony record," said State Sen. Mike Yakawich, R-Billings.
Yakawich is a sponsor of the bill and visited with Calton to come up with Alan's law.
"Cal and I, and all of us want to pass this bill and name it after him," Yakawich said.
Last week, Timothy Westervelt was charged with felony and misdemeanor offenses related to child sexual assault at the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.
"They were put into this facility as a troubled youth, and then instead of getting help and treatment as they were promised and their families were promised, they were abused," said Kasodie West, AVA Law Group managing partner.
West represents clients who have been at the ranch and says abuse in group homes is a nationwide problem, and the responsibility lies with the offending worker and management.
"It's our intent to file civil complaints against not only the perpetrators, but also against the facilities," West said.
And they all say SB 296 will solve only part of the problem.
"Really what's going to solve the problem is when people learn to care about one another again," said Calton. "Hopefully that happens."
