CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The memory of a small girl who died in October 1976, a victim of child abuse, is still alive in Cleveland.
Melisha Gibson’s death brought national attention to the region and led to changes in Tennessee’s child abuse laws, including requirements for teachers, doctors and others to report suspected abuse cases.
A fundraising walk named for Melisha is set for Thursday to benefit Court Appointed Special Advocates. CASA volunteers speak up in court for abused and neglected children who have no other voice in the legal system.
CASA of Bradley County director Suzanne Wisdom said the organization began in the mid-1970s when a Seattle judge trained some friends for the advocate’s role.
Wisdom said trained volunteers are trained are given court orders to look into children’s cases and report to the judge.
“We compile information for the judge, who may not have time to hear all the information in court,” she said.
Volunteers, who also can become mentors for the children, go through a background check and 35 hours of training, she said.
Local CASA representatives include college students, teachers, professional counselors, homemakers, business people and a firefighter, she said.
Juvenile Court Judge Daniel Swafford appoints a CASA representative when he fears danger to a child. Since it was created in 2008, CASA of Bradley County has represented more than 200 children.
In 1976, Melisha Gibson died after her stepfather beat her with a stick, made her drink hot sauce and, after she wet the bed, made her take a cold shower and climb back in the still-wet bed. Her mother did nothing.
The mother, Wanda Gibson, and the stepfather, Ronald Maddux, were convicted of second-degree murder. Both died in prison, Gibson in 1997 and Maddux on Feb. 7 of this year.
“Children didn’t have an advocate back then, except for the Department of Human Services, and they had to follow state rules,” said Sandra Rowland, wife of Mayor Tom Rowland. “The policy then was to keep the children with their parents whenever possible.”
Now, she said, there are community eyes watching out for foster children, even during the holidays. Her own employer, Brenda Lawson and Associates, leads hundreds of community volunteers each year who go Christmas shopping for kids who otherwise might have no present.