My parent's own a small real estate company in my hometown with locations in Port Angeles and Sequim, Washington. Last year shortly after my father, Jace Schmitz, passed away my mother, Eileen Schmitz, took a short leave of absense from work to grieve and a trusted employee, Marie Barnett, began forging their signatures and ultimately stole more than $20,000. She did it deliberately, meticulously, and with a smile on her face towards my family and the rest of the company the entire time. Because our overcrowded legal system has limitations this criminal has been offered a plea bargain – no public trial, no jury, no prison time, no walk-of-shame or photograph in the newspaper. She has an offer of 0 to 90 days in jail and her attorney is pushing for 0. Yes, she will get a felony conviction but it will come off her record in a few years (if she does not get caught again) and most people - including future employers - won't necessarily know about it. This small slap on the hand is apparently the "punishment" for blatantly stealing tens of thousands of dollars, for breaching trust of her employer and co-workers, and for taking advantage of a grieving widow. And this is someone who will likely do this again if not stopped. On Wednesday, November 6th from 9:00am -11:00am at the Port Angeles Court House my mother will be given a few minutes to appeal this light sentence in court and to ask for the maximum jail time of 90 days. Please sign this petition to show the judge that anything less than the maximum punishment is unacceptable for such a crime. Please sign to show that we don't believe people should get away with theft, that we are a community that values integrity, that we take care of our neighbors, and that we believe in justice for victims and not criminals. Your signature would mean the world to my family, to my family's company, and to my father's legacy. For more information you can view the Peninsula Daily News article here: http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130714/NEWS/307149989/0/SEARCH We have less than 24 hours to get as many signatures as possible. Please sign, and please share. Thank you so much <3

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