Ellisons want accountability for son's death, file lawsuit
The parents of James Ellison, the 22-year-old Barron native likelykilled by a priest in 2002, recently filed a wrongful death lawsuitagainst the Catholic Diocese of Superior Wisconsin, which ordained andhired the cleric. Carsten and Sally Ellison filed the civil lawsuit in St. Croix County Court seeking unspecified damages for their son's death.
A St. Croix County judge ruled earlier thisyear that Fr. Ryan Erickson likely shot and killed both James Ellisonand Daniel O'Connell. Erickson hanged himself outside the church he wasthen serving in Hurley, Wis., soon after authorities beganinvestigating his possible involvement in the double homicide.
The family contends the Diocese of Superior knew that there wereallegations of sexual assault and other abusive behaviors tied toErickson, but church officials overlooked them and ordained Ericksonanyway. The diocese then placed the priest at St. Patrick's parish inHudson without disclosing any information regarding his past to itsparishioners or clergy.
Sally Ellison said the statute oflimitations deadline for filing the wrongful death litigation was Dec.19, so the family had to make a tough decision fast. "This was avery hard decision for us," she said. "We struggled with this for along time. We finally concluded this is the only way we can obtain somemeasure of accountability or responsibility for the deaths of our sonand Dan O'Connell.
"It is our hope that some good can stillcome out of this tragedy. We want to do what we can to prevent the painof child sexual abuse, but also to provide counseling and after-carefor those who have been abused in the past." To that end, theEllisons have established a non-profit corporation called The JamesEllison Foundation for the Protection of Children, Inc. The family stressed that any financial settlement reached, if any, won't be for themselves.
"We want people to know from the start that any monetary gain from thislegal action will go directly into that foundation," Carsten Ellisonsaid. "No proceeds would ever be used for our personal use."
The Ellisons also expressed their full support for the O'Connellfamily's proposed five-step plan for improving how the Catholic Churchhandles priests accused of misconduct. The plan includes releasing thenames of predatory clergy, establishing a disciplinary mechanism forbishops who ordain troubled priests, fully disclosing the records ofchurch personnel who have molested children, creating a measurable planfor caring for victims of clergy abuse and securing bishops' support inreforming child sexual abuse laws in Wisconsin.
trauma
informed human
rights justice failed
institutions UN Convention
on Human Rights Rights of the
Child and a Bill of Rights for Australia future evidence resilience not
providing or representing a secular Australia autodidact
Hegemony: The authority, dominance, and influence of one group, nation, or society over another
group, nation, or society; typically through cultural, economic, or political means.
.
If you found this information to be of assistance please don't forget to donate so that we can
extend these resources to more survivors. These pages are focused on preserving survivor relevant information. Information is not provided as legal or professional
advice; it is provided as general information only and requires that you validate any information via
your own legal or other professional service providers.
