Vicky Gunderson

In June 2005, at the age of 17, Vicky’s son Kirk was booked into custody of the county jail following a tragic stabbing of his dad and his younger brother while using substances.

Kirk spent six months in jail and was scheduled for trial in January. While in jail, he got in fights with much older inmates, and a convicted sex offender exposed himself to Kirk. Kirk struggled with boredom and depression, which he dealt with by writing in his journal and studying toward his diploma. A few days before Christmas, the DA offered a plea bargain that Kirk intended to accept.

Two days after Christmas, Kirk was placed in confinement, known as “the hole,” for possession of self-tattooing materials given to him by other inmates. Kirk requested to not be left alone, as he felt he was having an anxiety attack. Regardless of his request, he was left alone for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hrs. In this time, Kirk hanged himself from the smoke detector.

Kirk’s mother Vicky has now become an incredible advocate for moving kids out of the adult justice system, in particular raising the age of juvenile court jurisdiction in Wisconsin from 17 to 18 years of age. She has submitted letters to local and state newspapers, spoken at public county board sessions, and met with county board members and state legislators. Vicky was instrumental in the success of changing the visitation policy at her local jail in 2006. For her active role in the community for changes within the county jail and suicide prevention initiatives, Vicky was a nominee for the La Crosse Tribune Person of the Year Award in December 2007. In May 2008, Vicky was honored for juvenile justice work by receiving the National Mother of Distinction Award from the Campaign for Youth Justice and the National Juvenile Justice Network.