Meeker Mother Seeks Early Release After 17 Years In Prison For Enabling Child Abuse

Raye Dawn Smith, a Meeker mother serving a 27-year sentence for enabling child abuse, will ask the state tomorrow for early release after serving 17 years.

Her daughter, Kelsey Smith-Briggs, was killed in 2005, a case that led to significant reforms in Oklahoma's Child Protective Services.

On Monday, Kelsey’s father, Lance Briggs, went before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to protest the potential early release.

Kelsey’s death highlighted serious shortcomings in the state’s Department of Human Services (DHS), which was investigating her parents and grandparents during a bitter custody battle. She was beaten to death in October 2005. To this day, no one has been convicted of her murder.

Michael Lee Porter, Kelsey’s stepfather, was charged with first-degree murder and sexual assault. Porter eventually became a state's witness against Smith, receiving a lesser charge and a 30-year prison sentence. Smith turned down plea deals in the case stating that she wouldn’t admit to something she didn’t do. She has consistently maintained her innocence and has never spoken publicly about the crime—until now.

"I've waited 20 years for today," Smith said in an exclusive interview from Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, her first prison interview. "20 years with people saying anything they wanted to. I didn't choose to be silent. I was silenced."

Smith is more than halfway through her sentence for failing to protect her daughter. She has maintained a clean discipline record, which allowed her to interview in prison to discuss the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death and her subsequent imprisonment.

"I have to live with it whether I'm in prison or home," Smith said. "Every morning, I wake up and I'm without Kelsey."

Smith claims she was punished for her then-husband's crime, of which she was unaware until it was too late.

"I may not have made all the right decisions, but neither did anybody else. They made wrong choices and wrong decisions too," she said. "It's horrible. It's horrible. Not only have I had to mourn Kelsey through persecution and adversity... there is nothing worse than to be told that you allowed someone to murder and steal your daughter."

Smith received nearly the same prison time as Porter, who was charged with Kelsey’s murder.

A Creek County jury convicted her after finding enough evidence to show she failed to protect her daughter from physical and sexual abuse in the months leading up to her death.

"You knew someone was hurting her. Do you feel like you did enough?" she was asked.

"I guess I didn't do enough. She's not here. But neither did anyone else. Nobody knew what he was. Nobody. And all I can say is, yes, we know now," Smith responded.

Smith also described the contentious custody battle over Kelsey, expressing suspicions about Kelsey's paternal family.

"When I took Kelsey to Kathy Briggs' visitation, she was walking. I picked her up four days later, she was crawling," Smith said. "Something happened because she was walking when I dropped her off. She was crawling when I picked her up. Who? What? Where? I don't know if somebody knows."

Despite investigations by DHS, Smith said no abuser was identified. She believes the family feud between the Briggs and the Smiths clouded judgments.

"They were focused on me, and I was focused on them," she said. "And then the Briggs sold her out. They sold her out. All because they hate me more than they love her. It's a hard truth, but it's the truth."

Smith claims the Briggs family sought out a plea deal for Porter to ensure her imprisonment. Rather than becoming bitter, Smith says she focused on the programs offered to inmates through the Department of Correction. She has completed 74 rehabilitation programs and earned two college degrees in prison. Smith is working toward a master’s degree, she says, to honor Kelsey.

"I live for Kelsey. I live for Kelsey. My accomplishments are for her. Her accomplishments."

On Tuesday, Smith will address the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board at 12:30 p.m. Her attorney, Morgan Hale with Project Commutation, will speak on her behalf. Excessive sentencing Hale says Smith deserves a reduced sentence. Former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Kris Steele, who co-authored Kelsey’s Law, will also speak on Smith’s behalf.

In 2006, then-Governor Brad Henry signed Kelsey’s Law, granting DHS and judges the ability to have the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigate suspected abuse cases and establish stronger case review procedures.

Three of the five board members must vote in favor of commutation for it to proceed to Governor Kevin Stitt for approval.

Lance Briggs has stated it would be a miscarriage of justice if either Smith or Porter were released early.

At last check, Porter has not asked for an early release from his 30-year sentence. According to the DOC records, Porter is listed as ‘Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision’ which means he’s serving his sentence in another state at an unknown location.