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Jim, a white man with short dark brown hair and light stubble is sitting in a room, holding a microphone in front of a man's face. Jim is wearing a black blazer and black headphones to monitor audio. The man is white with short dark brown hair and dark colored glasses. He is wearing a buttoned flannel dress shirt with varying colors of blue, and a black t-shirt underneath.

News

Remembering people with disabilities who were killed

March 1, 2021

(Trigger warning: descriptions of murder and abuse to children with disabilities)

People with disabilities who were killed by trusted caregivers are honored each March 1 at Disability Day of Mourning events around the world. Inspired by these vigils, James Shirley is working with All-Abilities Media to produce a film about lives lost to murder.

Shirley has more than one reason that he’s passionate about pushing his proposed film forward.

He knew two children who were killed by their mother because they were autistic. Laurel Schlemmer drowned Luke, 3, and his brother Daniel, 6. Around the same time, Shirley was coming to terms with an autism diagnosis in his 30s. 

He’d seen the Schlemmer boys before, when they were just kids among the families sharing pancakes and juice.

The serene memory stood in stark relief to their deaths.

It led Shirley to participate in a local Disability Day of Mourning–one of many such events annually on March 1 to commemorate the killings of people with disabilities.

He says he hopes the film “will encourage and comfort people in the disabled world who deal with this and have a positive reception from nondisabled people.”

“It’s work that should have been done years ago,” Shirley says, “and there isn’t a better time to do it than now, especially with COVID, which has exposed inequities in the health care system.”

The film Shirley is developing is receiving educational support from the All-Abilities Media Project–a joint effort between the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University and Unabridged Press. The FISA Foundation is funding a portion of the documentary’s research and planning stages this year. If you’re able to financially support the film effort, the All-Abilities Media Project accepts donations from individuals and groups. 

If you believe a person with a disability is in danger or being abused call:

Childline: 1-800-932-0313

Adult Protective Services: 1-800-490-8505