Angela is fighting to walk again, and much more...

January 29, 2023

 Angela Harris is fighting to walk again, and much more.

Trip Goal: $7,000

Message from Angela: I am asking for financial assistance to travel to Juneau, Alaska during the 2023 legislative session to testify regarding bills relevant to my assault on February 13, 2022.

A synopsis of my situation is below. Please view the opening Youtube video above, plus the links at the bottom of this request for a better understanding of what I’m up against, and what I’m trying to change as it relates to the loopholes in our legal system regarding violent offenders who are mentally unrestorable.

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My name is Angela Harris. I was stabbed while returning books to the Anchorage Loussac Library on February 13, 2022. As a result of the injury, I may never have full use of my legs again.

My assailant was a known offender in our community, having been found to be mentally unfit to stand trial on charges linked to random attacks on two other women in Anchorage in December 2021.

Though my assailant was captured in all three instances, charges continue to be dismissed, deeming this person to be incompetent and “unrestorable.” He continues to slip through the cracks of Alaska’s judicial system.

I have spent the last 11 months since the attack trying to physically and mentally heal. During this time, I have recognized I was put into this position for a reason. As such, I’ve delineated my three primary goals moving forward:

1. Keep my assailant from being released back into the public in the next two weeks given his history of violence against women;

2. Drive legislative change to address the mental health care gaps and legal loopholes regarding competency policies that allowed him to be released less than a month after he assaulted two different women in public on the same day;

3. To insure our public libraries and areas remain a safe environment for Alaskans to learn, explore, imagine and grow.

Knowing my assailant could be walking in our community among unsuspecting citizens is horrifying.

I have also spent countless hours fighting to have my voice heard, having contacted every elected official and governmental agency in Alaska to tell my story. Some legislators are making an effort to enact change.

This last week of January I learned I’ll soon have the opportunity to have my voice heard in Juneau when three bills relevant to my case are to be submitted by the Governor, Senator Claman, and Representative Josephson.

I am asking for financial assistance to make several trips to Juneau during this year’s legislative session with at least one trip for each of the House and Senate hearings. This travel request is for me and one other person, who will be my care aide.

I sincerely appreciate any donation to this travel fund, large or small. I feel these trips to Juneau, to share my experience during and after the stabbing, will highlight real-life experiences that are the results of legal loopholes in our legal and mental health care systems that allow violent offenders to be set free and unaccountable for their actions.

Thank you, Angela Harris

To hear further details about my story, please visit:

ADN June 8 https://tinyurl.com/mwew3z9j

 KTUU June 22 https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/video/2022/06/23/victim-random-attack-library-worries-her-attacker-will-be-set-free/

ADN June 26

https://tinyurl.com/28dp92yw

APM June 28

https://alaskapublic.org/2022/06/28/the-anchorage-woman-stabbed-by-a-known-offender-at-loussac-library-is-fighting-to-walk-again-and-close-the-loopholes-that-let-him-go-free/