Lawmakers have once again introduced 'Aisha's Law,' legislation to provide more protections for victims and survivors of domestic violence. In her first interview since her daughter's death, Aisha's mother is urging its passage.
"She just had that loving personality and always thought on the positive side," Millicent Fraser said, reminiscing with photos. "She was a blessing."
Millicent Fraser's life changed on November 17, 2018.
"It's never been the same," Fraser said. "I just had to pick up the pieces."
That's the day her daughter and beloved Woodbury Elementary School teacher Aisha Fraser was murdered by her ex-husband.
"The judge should have never let him out after seven or eight months, because he never even reformed when he was in jail," Fraser said.
Aisha's friend and colleague Chante Thomas told me she knew Aisha was in danger from her ex Lance Mason — a former Cleveland judge who had already served time in prison for domestic violence against Aisha. He brutally beat her in 2014 with their children in the backseat. Their divorce was finalized in 2015.
"Oh, my God, the system absolutely failed her," Thomas said, sitting on the park bench dedicated to the former educator. "Being there throughout all of that, we all were just devastated to see the contact that she had to have with him because of the girls."
Former Cuyahoga County Judge Lance Mason pleaded guilty to a slew of charges, including murder, relating to the stabbing death of his ex-wife Aisha Fraser, during his pretrial hearing in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in 2019.
RELATED: Lance Mason, former Cuyahoga County judge, pleads guilty to murder of ex-wife Aisha Fraser
Aisha's memory lives on in Shaker Heights, Thomas said, but it needs to go further.
"There should be much stricter punishments for abusers," she said, adding that she hopes this interview will show people what needs to change. "You shouldn't get a second chance."
Mason got a second chance because he was still applauded in the community — Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson defended the city's decision to hire the convicted abuser in 2017, three years after the attack in the car.
We've been covering this case and the aftermath of Mason's trial — click here to read more.
"How do you sweep something like that under the carpet? You just don't do that," Fraser said, noting that because it was his "first offense" he got off easy. "First time could be the last time she could have been dead."
Since Aisha's death, Ohio lawmakers have continued to propose legislation known as Aisha's Law. A bipartisan group of more than 30 of them want her story to lead to a change.
"Enough is enough," state Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) said. "How many more people must die as a result of domestic violence before this legislation is law?"
She and state Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) feel that the lawmakers need to step up and put Ohioans first.
"Far too many individuals continue to be abused and live in fear," Carruthers said. "That is why it is so critical that we pass House Bill 486 and make Ohio safer — and a safer place to let victims know that we care about them and that there is hope."
Both women say they have a personal experience with violence, with Brent having filed a civil stalking protection order and Carruthers' mother having been a victim of domestic abuse.
They are being helped by Cuyahoga County Councilmember and Aisha's lifelong friend Meredith Turner.
"The bill is asking for law enforcement to be trained, learn how to assess victims of domestic violence, specifically the risk of them losing their lives," Turner said.
H.B. 486 would also create additional penalties for aggravated murder when the victim was a family member and for child endangerment when the violence happens around children. Plus it would mandate courts to have a judge available around the clock to issue protection orders.
A portion of Aisha's Law was passed in 2022, creating a standalone offense of strangulation.
Until 2023, Ohio was the only state in the U.S. that failed to recognize the potentially deadly crime as a felony. The new law states that an individual is guilty of strangulation if they cause serious physical harm or cause a substantial risk of serious physical harm to another person by means of strangulation or suffocation. The strangulation offense can be charged as a second-degree, fourth-degree, or fifth-degree felony.
RELATED: Law that makes strangulation a felony takes effect Tuesday in Ohio
"I absolutely believe there is a very strong potential to save lives," Turner.
This bill hits home for her, not just because of the murder of someone as close as a sister, but because she is also a survivor of intimate partner violence, she said.
"This is not something that I talk about publicly, but with Aisha's loss of her life, it really compelled me," she said. "I am telling my story, I am advocating for Aisha to show people that this can happen to anyone."
Aisha's loved ones hope that lawmakers can get it done this time — so that other families don't have to suffer the same fate.
"They really need to make a stiffer law because there have been other women here in the Greater Cleveland area," Fraser said. "It doesn't stop, it just gets worse."
This is the third time the bill has been introduced, each time by Carruthers and a Democratic cosponsor. The House passed it in a bipartisan fashion both times. But it stalls in the Senate.
"A lot of people don't think that's a big issue," the Republican said. "I personally do."
Domestic violence bills tend to have the least amount of opponents, yet disproportionately don't pass, according to our analysis.
RELATED: Domestic violence bills stagnant in Ohio despite fewer opponents, News 5 analysis shows
The two lawmakers are hopeful that they have made enough compromises and the Senate will finally pass the bill.
Mason was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 with the possibility of parole after 35 years.
Fraser told me she will continue fighting for the bill to be passed — and for Aisha's story to be told.
Domestic Violence Resources
Ohio Domestic Violence Network: 1-800-934-9840 or 614-781-9651
Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center:
- 24-Hour Domestic Violence Helpline: 216-391-HELP (4357)
- 24-Hour Family Helpline: 216-391-4357
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1−800−799−7233.
