Women's advocate speaks out against domestic violence

Less than 10 years ago, Rose Parker sat in a prison cell with nothing but hope. Fellow inmates called her "Crazy Rose" when she said she was going home, especially considering her release lay in the hands of a governor who said he would never let any prisoners out on his watch.

But Parker made history Dec. 7, 2000, when she was the first woman to be released from prison by California Gov. Gray Davis.

After her release, Parker decided to instill in others the hope that got her through the darkest of days. On Tuesday and Wednesday nights, she shared her story at the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau.

Parker was just a teenage girl when she started dancing on Soul Train. She got involved in more acting jobs and eventually met Art Boga, a promoter in the entertainment industry and a known drug dealer.

Soon after their involvement, Parker said, Boga started to get violent.

"He said he'd make me wish I was dead or crack my skull," Parker said.

Parker said the violence and drug abuse continued to escalate over time, and after Boga beat her with a pistol, she knew she had to get away. She went back home, she said, but Boga would stalk her and threaten her life, until she had to decide between her life or his.

Parker said Boga held her hostage four days, until her brother tried to rescue her. Boga was physically violent with her brother, she said, before he said he was going to the car to get his Uzi and "kill the family." It was at that time that Parker shot at Boga, killing him and injuring her brother.

On March 27, 1986, Parker was arrested for the murder of her estranged boyfriend. Despite the history of previous abuse and the implications of Battered Woman's Syndrome, Parker was sentenced 27 years to life in prison.

But her everlasting faith and relentless hope, she said, is what earned her the name "Crazy Rose."

"You have to dare to dream. The Bible says we can move mountains, and I believed I could do that," Parker said.

After serving 15 years in prison, the minimum for which she was sentenced, Parker was released. Gov. Davis said though she committed a grave crime, the case had all the characteristics of Battered Woman's Syndrome, a now legally recognized defense which was not available at the time of her trial.

Though Parker had been imprisoned for a murder she felt was self-defense, she never felt beat down by the system. During her time behind bars, she was the choir and praise and worship leader, musical coordinator and aerobics instructor. She also prepared curriculum and facilitated more than 300 workshops and seminars.

"She was in prison, but prison never got into her," said her husband, Apostle M. Sterling, a licensed and ordained minister whom she married in 2003. Later that year she received an honorary doctorate of divinity and in 2004 she got her doctoral degree in Christian counseling.

Now Dr. Rose Parker-Sterling, she has written a book, "Beat Up, Beat Down and Still Standing: The Rose Parker Story," and tours the country, sharing her life story, promoting her book of hope and speaking out against domestic violence.

"There's more to my life than what happened in the past. It's what we are doing now, in the future, to make sure another person doesn't get caught up in a domestic violence relationship," she said.

At her lecture at the Salvation Army, Parker spoke about the types of abuse and the warning signs to look for. She also gave advice to those who have been abused and are trying to move on.

"Begin by knowing yourself and realizing it's not your fault," she said. "Realize your dreams and what you want to do with your life."

cwest@semissourian.com

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