John 3:19-21
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

Kelsey left this world at the age of two and a half from blunt force trauma to her abdomen. Her step-father, Mike Porter, is serving a 30 year sentence for enabling child abuse; his original charge was murder and sexual assault. The District Attorney (Richard Smothermon) told Mike Porter while on the stand at Raye Dawn's trial that he knows Mike Porter murdered and sexually assaulted Kelsey. So why did Mike Porter receive a plea for a lesser charge?

To further his political career, the District Attorney offered Mike Porter a plea after he was placed in a position to seek a personal vendetta against Raye Dawn (Kelsey's mom) for Kathie and Lance Briggs (Kelsey's paternal grandmother and father). Mike Porter murdered and sexually assaulted Kelsey, yet Lance Briggs asked Richard Smothermon to offer a plea to Mike Porter. Raye Dawn wasn't even home when Kelsey died and all the circumstantial evidence points to Mike Porter as acting alone in Kelsey's death, but the Briggs family fought with rallies and signs that stated "No plea for the blonde bombshell" against a plea for Raye Dawn. Why?

Mike Porter should have faced a jury so that the truth of what happened to Kelsey would be made public, but he didn't. He was the only one home when he sexually assaulted and murdered Kelsey. Without hearing the evidence against him, the public has not been told about the truth of what happened to Kelsey. The child porn that was found on Mike Porter's computer along with other pieces to the puzzle were buried in his plea. Mike Porter should have been convicted of murder and sexual assault, but he wasn't. Why would Richard Smothermon allow such a travesty to take place?

Mike Porter teamed up with the Briggs family and together they worked to obtain a plea deal for the lesser charge of enabling child abuse for Mike Porter, and to have Raye Dawn charged with whatever would make her "spend at least one day in jail" as Kathie Briggs stated was her desire.

The District Attorney charged Raye Dawn with either enabling child abuse or abusing Kelsey. Just before the end of Raye Dawn's trial he offered her a blind plea for pleading guilty to spanking Kelsey with a brush. Raye Dawn refused the plea because she never hurt her daughter and would not lie and say she did. The bruises from the alleged "brush spanking" appeared on Kelsey after Kathie and Lance Briggs had Kelsey in their homes for four hours. Why weren't Kathie and Lance charged in the "abuse"? The police ruled that the bruises on Kelsey's bottom were not abuse, so why try to pin it on Raye Dawn when it's been argued as non-abusive and Raye Dawn didn't have Kelsey when the bright red marks appeared on Kelseys bottom? Why hasn't Kathie been charged with neglecting Kelsey after Kelsey broke her legs at Kathie's home and Kathie watched the child crawl for four days and didn't seek medical attention just so Raye Dawn would be blamed for breaking Kelsey's legs? A Briggs family member testified that she witnessed Kelsey crawling on Kathie's floor but she didn't think anything about it. Why wasn't she charged with child neglect?

Raye Dawn took her chances with a jury that had been tainted by the Briggs and the media. She believed in the justice system and believed that without any evidence to back up the Briggs' and Mike Porter's claims and with her faith in her innocence that the jury would see through the smoke screen. Belief in the justice system is a belief that she and her family no longer have.

For two years the Briggs family has worked at tainting public opinion with an all-out media assault against Raye Dawn. Billboards went up, stickers were passed out, their forum kept going with daily posts proclaiming Raye Dawn to be guilty of hurting and even murdering Kelsey, and more than 63 YouTube videos showing Lance as a perfect father and war hero and Raye Dawn as the one who hurt Kelsey were in existence at the start of Raye Dawn's trial. (Nowhere in those videos is it stated that Lance was not in Iraq when Kelsey died or that he didn't bother to show up for one custody hearing or appointment with DHS when he was in Oklahoma weekly while the battle for Kelsey was at its peak.) Why haven't the Briggs been charged with obstruction of justice with their blatant disregard for the gag order that was in place? Why has Richard Smothermon turned a blind eye to the Briggs and their disregard for Raye Dawn's right to a fair trial?

Raye Dawn has been forced to sit on the sidelines and endure daily hatred from the public while Mike Porter has slipped quietly into the prison system; his whereabouts kept secret for his protection. The Briggs family has advertised Raye Dawn's whereabouts and have said on television that they hate her and hope prison is hell for her and that she's beaten daily. Why all the hatred for Raye Dawn and none for the man who murdered an innocent child? The Briggs family has complained that Raye Dawn didn't call and offer her condolences to them after Kelsey died. They're upset at the fact that because of Lance's death threats **** after Kelsey died, Raye Dawn sought an order of protection from Lance. The Briggs insisted on their own funeral, but left Raye Dawn's family to pay the extra expense of two funerals for Kelsey.

****The death threats were taken seriously by the sheriff and OSBI because Lance made them from a mental hospital where he was placed in early September of 2005 for either his addiction to pain killers or his being distraught over his wife leaving him - the Briggs have stated both stories, along with the one that he was in Iraq. However, his 18 month tour lasted maybe two to four months and the truth of the shortened trip has yet to be told.

Kelsey is the only victim in all of this. However, Raye Dawn has been crucified by the public as a result of Mike Porter's plea. The public wanted someone to pay for Kelsey's death. Mike Porter, the Briggs family, and Richard Smothermon set Raye Dawn up to take the fall.

Mike Porter should be in jail for murder, and Kelsey's mom should be free because she is innocent. Raye Dawn would have never knowingly allowed anyone to lay a hand on her child. She had already lost one child to Lance's abuse, and she saved herself from the abusive Lance Briggs before she learned of her pregnancy with Kelsey. Raye Dawn would have fought to save her daughter from Mike Porter if she had seen any signs that Mike Porter was an abuser. Mike Porter lied and manipulated Raye Dawn, her entire family, and all those who interviewed him and watched over Kelsey. He convinced everyone into thinking he was a good father and a good man. He used deception to take advantage of the situation and married Raye Dawn while she was fighting to keep her daughter away from the man who physically abused her and the woman who had given up her own children.

Mike Porter is the face of the monster who killed Kelsey Smith-Briggs, yet all the hatred has been aimed toward Kelsey's mother who wasn't even home when little Kelsey lost her life. Ask yourself why...why all the hatred toward Raye Dawn and not Mike Porter? You can look at any site, any video, any poster - whatever has been made or said by the Briggs and their supporters and not find the level of hatred against Mike Porter that has been lashed out against Raye Dawn. Ask yourself WHY!?

Find out why the D.A. wasn't even qualified to press charges against Raye Dawn and how the Briggs family and the media tainted the jury by reading Raye Dawn's Next Steps. Find out how the Briggs family reacted to Raye Dawn's verdict by reading Request for Hearing.

Raye Dawn was sentenced to 27 years in prison on September 10, 2007 for enabling child abuse. Raye is innocent and her friends and family will continue to work so that she can receive a fair trial. You can help. Sign the petition and go to the Raye Defense link and help free Raye Dawn with the truth. The public wants the truth! Kelsey deserves the truth! Why isn't Richard Smothermon being held accountable for not delivering the TRUTH of what happened to Kelsey? Why is he being allowed to crucify an innocent woman so that one family can exact their thirst for revenge? Why aren't those in power standing up for what's right and correcting this injustice so that Kelsey's mom can be allowed to grieve the loss of her daughter? Why has Oklahoma allowed this injustice to take place? Why has Oklahoma allowed a man who cares more about his image of living in the "right town" to carry out any charges against any of the people in counties that he doesn't care to reside? The man has lied to his voters, and now he's allowed to charge an innocent woman of a crime in order to appease a single family? Ask yourself why!

This case makes no sense if you look at it objectively. The jurors slept, watched media reports, heard the reporters and the Briggs family's conversations about the case, and they made the wrong decision. Raye Dawn Smith should have been found innocent. Raye Dawn Smith should be holding her son that the state ripped from her arms at birth instead of living in a prison cell. Raye Dawn Smith should be allowed to grieve the loss of her daughter, something she's been denied since Kelsey was taken from her.

We have just begun our fight for Raye Dawn. Since Raye Dawn's verdict was passed down in July, 2007 we have created this site, put up a forum, and made videos to tell the truth about the injustice in this case. Raye Dawn followed court orders and remained silent against the mob, and her silence has cost her life and the life of her son that she will not see while in prison. It's time to make a difference and stand against the mob of 20,000 that the Briggs family has claimed to have amassed over the last two years. It's time to do what's right! Please share the truth of this case with friends and family. Help us to bring awareness to this injustice in Oklahoma. Help us to Free Kelsey's Mom!

Raye's friends and family thank you for your support. God bless you!

NOTE FROM TRUTH SEEKER:

This site is filled with facts, documents, and notes to call your attention to specifics for those who are new to the case. Nothing on this site is intended as "bashing" or "slander" as some have accused me of doing. None of the documents have been altered, and we're working to post everything available on the case that we're able to post.

Any comments or questions that may be construed as negative by some come from a lack of understanding of the CLEAR case of conspiracy and CLEAR hatred for Raye Dawn. If a fraction of the hatred geared toward Raye Dawn had been aimed at Mike Porter and if the paternal family did not CLEARLY conspire with Mike Porter to put Raye Dawn in prison, the public might be more understanding of the words that have been said and the actions that have been taken.

However, we'll never understand conspiring with the man who sexually assaulted Kelsey and murdered her. That's unfathomable.