COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kaylynn Malinowski was just 13 years old when she stood before the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee and testified in support of Judy’s Law in June 2017.
The law was named after her mother, Judy Malinowski, who died just days later after spending nearly 700 days in the hospital. In August 2015, her ex-boyfriend had doused her in gasoline and set her on fire.
Kaylynn, now 17 and with an extra “n” at the end of her name, remembers numbering her note cards for that day because she had dropped them, scattering them on the floor.
“It was like nerve-wracking because I was doing something that was going to make an impact later on," she said.
And her testimony, no doubt, did make an impact. She and her sister Madison were right by then-Gov. John Kasich’s side as he signed their mother’s bill into law.
“As a 13-year-old, you don’t necessarily think that you can make a huge difference, so the fact that, as a 13-year-old, I could make that difference and then other people could learn that at any age and point in their life they could make any difference,” she said.
Kaylynn was not like most 13-year-olds, however. By that age, she already had experienced so much. And that would only continue.
After testifying before lawmakers, Kaylynn was in the spotlight once again during the murder trial for her mother’s killer, Michael Slager. She recalls being initially upset when Slager took a plea deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty.
“Looking back at that one incident, I was just upset that he was able to carry on the parent-child relationship, and I wasn’t,” she said.
But what was more upsetting to her was another moment from the courtroom. Her mother was part of a groundbreaking legal move back then. Judy Malinowski was allowed to record testimony that would later be used in her own murder trial.
But that testimony was initially sealed and kept hidden from everyone. When it was finally revealed, Kaylynn watched the video at the same time as everyone else in the courtroom.
She heard her mother’s voice again for the first time since she had died more than a year before. And she heard more of the details about what happened for the first time.
“I knew it was serious, but it made me realize that it was even more serious than I already thought it was, and it made me still be in awe that she had the courage to stand up after that happened and tell everybody what happened,” Kaylynn said.
Now, Kaylynn is summoning up her own courage to make a difference.
She and three of her classmates are working on a class project with the goal of creating, changing or ending a law. Their project focuses on Judy’s Law.
They are hoping to tack nine years onto sentences of convicted abusers instead of the current six allowed under the law. They also hope to expand the parameters to include other methods beyond using an accelerant.
“I think it would make a really big difference because, a lot of times, domestic violence goes unreported because the laws aren’t very harsh and they’re not very broad,” Kaylynn said. “I think that if the laws are more broad then people will be able to feel more comfortable reporting it.”
Her classmate Eric Michitsch agrees. He believes the team has a good chance of changing the law.
“If this goes past what the project is for school, I’m going to stick with it and continue to ride it out until we can get this passed, if possible,” he said.
The next step for the students is to start sending out letters to lawmakers. They are hoping to get someone on board to sponsor the expansion of the law.
Already, Kaylynn has reached out to State Senator Stephanie Kunze (R-Hilliard) and State Rep. Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville).
“Kaylynn and her group seem to think that increasing the penalty will increase the deterrent level,” Rep. Lightbody said. “I’m not sure. I think that people’s emotions get tied up so tightly in these things that sometimes they’re not able to control themselves in the moment, and I would with that a law change would help, but I think we need to work on mental health issues as well. And make sure that people who are worried about domestic violence have some recourse to additional protections in terms of restraining orders and things like that.”
Rep. Lightbody says she hopes to work with the students through the process, but she does believe more research is needed and that the language would need to be refined.
Sen. Kunze’s office released this statement to 10TV.
"My heart breaks for families and individuals who are victims of not only domestic violence, but any act of violence. Which is why I have always, and will always, support legislation that strengthens protections for victims of domestic violence, as I did in Judy’s Law.
I will continue to work to ensure Ohio law reflects our commitment to doing what needs to be done to stop these heinous crimes and hold offenders accountable. My door is always open to hear from advocates, victims and their families on how we can work together to continue these efforts. I am thankful for Judy’s courage and determination to share her story and admire her daughter Kaylyn for continuing to honor her memory and protect Ohioans."
The students also have created an online petition with the goal of collecting at least 500 signatures in support of expanding the law.