Laura Abbott's life changed while visiting Mount Magazine State Park in 2012 when her husband ran over her multiple times with a truck, and since then she has worked to help victims of domestic abuse get the help they need.
Abbott, who was the keynote speaker at an International Women's Day program at National Park College Wednesday, recounted the story about her struggles to navigate the legal system and come to terms with being a victim of domestic abuse.
The Cabot teacher ended up with five titanium plates and 32 screws from the incident.
"I look like an old-school bicycle chain in there," she said, showing an X-ray of the plates and screws.
At the time, there were only two people working at the shelter in Garland County, and she met with a woman for a support meeting after work. The woman told her that Abbott's husband "is crazy," so Abbott's sister encouraged her to go to a support group meeting at another shelter.
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"I traveled 40 miles to the next domestic violence shelter for a support group," she said, noting the only option in Hot Springs at the time was a one-on-one session with one of two employees at the local shelter.
"And it was in that support group, I sat there, didn't say a word with the 13 other victims, and I listened to people talk about how they had been stabbed multiple times, going back to their perpetrator, even after he got released out of jail. I thought, 'Well, thank goodness, I'm not one of them. Thank goodness, I'm not a victim of domestic violence. I mean, yeah, he's crazy ... but that doesn't make me a victim of domestic violence.'"
Abbott's sisters encouraged her to go back to set up a safety plan, despite not feeling as if she was a victim.
"So I went for the safety plan, and then when I said, 'I don't really need this; I'm just here to please my sisters,' the counselor just looked out the window," she said. "And that's all it took for me. The point of me telling you these little detailed stories is: whatever it is that you say you do, as long as you're not harming somebody, is going to be what they need to hear at that moment."
The case went before a jury, and her husband's multiple felony charges were reduced to third-degree misdemeanor battery, and he spent 90 days in jail with no restitution.
Five years after the initial trial, her husband sought to have his misdemeanor record expunged.
"I called the prosecuting attorney, and I was allowed to appeal his expungement," she said.
"I didn't know this was a thing, but there it is. I did not want to see him again, so I was allowed to send someone on my behalf so I did not have to be re-traumatized by him.
"There were three little words in Arkansas law that say people have to show remorse in order to get their records (expunged), pay their fines, etc. And he had done at least 15 other things that we don't have time to talk about," she said.
"So I wrote those 15 things up, handed them to my spokesperson and sent them off to Logan County, where the judge, two weeks after that hearing, said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't get your record sealed.'"
The judge also issued an order for her now ex-husband to pay restitution since none was ordered initially.
Since the incident, Abbott has spent her life trying to help other victims of domestic violence by lobbying for laws to be passed to help victims and speaking at events. One thing she helped champion was Laura's Card, which is now provided to victims or their families by police when they respond to domestic violence calls.
In addition to Abbott's keynote speech, several area agencies were on hand to give attendees information regarding domestic violence.
Laura Abbott gives the keynote address during an International Women's Day event at National Park College on March 15. - Photo by Donald Cross of The Sentinel-Record