Judy Malinowski has been in a hospital bed for nearly two years after her ex-boyfriend doused her with gasoline, and set her on fire.
Tuesday her 13-year-old daughter spoke to legislators on her mother's behalf.
"Since my mom is unable to speak, I'm here to speak for her," said Kaylyn Malinowski.
On a day when she should be playing with her friends and talking about 13-year-old things, Kaylyn Malinowski was instead testifying before the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee.
Her mother is also someplace she shouldn't be, suffering a pain no human should know.
"While we stand here today, my mom lies in a hospital bed, where she has been for 689 days," Kaylyn told lawmakers. "She has been in a lot of pain, and every day is a fight to stay alive."
On August 2, 2015, Michael Slager doused Judy with gasoline and lit her on fire.
Last year, Malinowski shared her story with 10tv from her hospital bed; a bed doctors say she will likely never leave.
"The man who hurt her took away a lot from my family," said her daughter. "He took away my mom. He took away my grandma's time, and most of all, he took away the most precious and gorgeous person everyone knew."
Slager pleaded guilty to aggravated arson and felonious assault and was sentenced to the maximum possible 11 years in prison.
"While he got 11 years, my mom, my sister and I all got a life sentence," Kaylyn said.
"Judy's Law," named for her mother, would add six years to the prison sentence of crimes using an accelerant, where the victim is permanently disabled or disfigured.
"Judy didn't deserve what happened to her, and didn't cause it," said Phyllis Carlson-Riehm of Action Ohio, a group that advocates for victims of domestic violence. "Even with the enactment of 'Judy's Law,' her abuser will never experience what she has been enduring. But at least Ohio law will provide a more appropriate criminal penalty for abusers like Michael Slager."
The law won't change the loss Judy's daughters experience daily in big ways and small.
"I won't have my mom to help me get ready for cheerleading tryouts or to get ready for the first day of school each year," Kaylyn testified. "She won't be there to do my hair or to spot me on my tumbling. She won't see my graduate, or see me get married."
But a 13-year-old who should have been elsewhere Tuesday, says this is bigger than her family and her loss.
"Please pass my mom's law, because together we can prevent these types of situations. We can prevent this from happening to other families."
"Judy's Law" unanimously passed the House of Representatives in May.
It has to be passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee before heading to the full state Senate.
Judy Malinowski, meanwhile, is in hospice care. Prosecutors say if she dies from her injuries, they plan to charge Michael Slager with murder.
Watch her story, in her own words:
- Gahanna man pleads “no contest” on charges of setting woman on fire
- "Find Help, Run": Woman set on fire shares message for abused women
- Woman set on fire: "I want to fight" to live
- Woman set on fire: Attacker's punishment doesn't fit crime
- Judge: Woman set on fire allowed to record testimony for potential murder trial