NEW ORLEANS — A mother whose son was shot twice, and paralyzed by the bullet wounds, joins other victims' families to change the law, and push for more rights and transparency in the judicial system.
“Victims have already been traumatized once. They don't need to be abused by the system,” Elisabeth Hansard said.
She says she has learned the hard way that after her son's life was saved, the struggle had just begun not only with his health condition after the injury but with the justice system.
Her injured son is only in his mid-20s. Now she is fighting for change.
Hansard helped see a bill through committee last week, that now goes to the full house Wednesday in Baton Rouge.
This new purpose started because of what happened last summer.
By the Lake Terrace fountain in August, Noah Hansard was finishing up his nightly lakefront walk. He liked to look at the wildlife. That's when two juveniles came out of a car and robbed him at gunpoint.
“The driver got out and I could feel that it was a little bit, like the air was getting more aggressive, and thinking of well what else do they have to take other than my life,” Noah Hansard said.
His mother Elisabeth knew something was wrong when he didn't text her.
“And I ran across the neutral zone and the NOPD stopped me and I said, ‘Is it Noah?’ And they said, ‘Yes, he's been shot and taken to UMC,’” Elisabeth said.
Blood given by EMS and surgery at the trauma center saved him, but wounds from a bullet, still inside of him, took his ability to walk. Elisabeth already lost her only other son as a baby.
“I told him, ‘Thank you for not leaving me.’ And he gave me a little thumbs up because he was intubated,” she remembers.
Noah's care is now 24 hours, but in between Elisabeth is fighting for victims' rights, testifying in Baton Rouge to pass state legislation, forcing the judicial system to be more transparent.
“The victim coordinators do not provide the information that I believe they are required to provide. There's a bill of rights, Louisiana bill of rights, and it clearly states, for example, that all victims to be advised of every court case appearance, and they have to right to attend,” she added.
One of the two juveniles has been caught, but Noah is not allowed to know about his prior record. That would help in deciding if they agreed with plea deals. They want a public portal so families can easily see upcoming court dates and decisions. They don't want it written in legal terms.
Now Noah is working on finishing his college degree at UNO in naval engineering. He's not angry because he looks forward, knowing he can only change the future, for himself and maybe other victims.
“You would hope that they would catch both since it was such a violent crime. It doesn't always work down here it seems,” Noah said.
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