Pamela Sue Rogers "Pam" Lychner , born Pamela Sue Rogers (1959 in Aurora, Illinois -July 17, 1996 (July 18 UTC)) was a Spring Valley Village, Texas, United States (near Houston) real estate agent who promoted the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996" bill. Lychner died in the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800.
History
Pam Lychner, a former flight attendant for TWA, bought a vacant house to sell in 1990. When she and her husband, Joseph "Joe" Lychner, visited the house, a workman from a cleaning company named William David Kelley appeared and told the couple that he forgot to clean under the sink. Later Kelley tried to tear Pam Lychner's clothes off her body; Joe Lychner held Kelley as Pam Lychner called for help. Kelley, a convicted rapist and child molester, carried a knife and duct tape on his person and a blanket in his pickup truck. Kelley plea bargained and received a sentence of 20 years for "aggravated kidnapping with intent to commit sex assault."
After the Texas Department of Criminal Justice sent a letter to the Lychner residence, notifying the household that the state nominated Kelley as a candidate for early release, Pam Lychner decided to become a "victim's rights" advocate, founding the group "Justice For All." Pam Lychner, as president of the group, lobbied for repealing mandatory release laws, registration of sex offenders, and the construction of more prisons. In addition sex offenders who move to new locations are required to contact authorities; if they fail to do so they face fines and prison time.
Pam Lychner promoted and, according to U.S. Senators Phil Gramm and Joe Biden, crafted the language of a bill, later called the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996," that established a federal database for United States sex offenders. In addition the bill required sex offenders who move to new locations are required to contact authorities; if they fail to do so they face fines and prison time.
Death
Shannon Evan Lychner, Pam Lychner's 10 year-old elder daughter, had copied Claude Monet's paintings, and Pam Lychner wanted to introduce Shannon Lychner to the Giverny, Monet's former garden, located near Paris. The family created a plan for a three-day Paris trip.
37 year-old Pam Lychner and her daughters, Shannon Lychner and 8 year-old Katherine Elizabeth "Katie" Lychner, boarded TWA Flight 800 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, bound for Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris. N93119, the Boeing 747-131 used for Flight 800, exploded off the coast of Long Island, killing all of the passengers, including the three Lychners, and all of the crew. Joe Lychner advocated for an investigation of Flight 800. According to Joe Lychner, the bodies of Pam Lychner and her daughter Katie were recovered during the first night of rescue efforts. On July 22, five days after the crash, the Suffolk County, New York coroners had identified Pam and Joe Lychner was summoned to confirm the identification. Days later Katie's body was positively identified, and on July 28 Shannon's body was recovered. The three crash victims received burial in a family plot near Chicago, Illinois.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that a flammable mixture of air and aviation fuel vapors in the center wing fuel tank exploded, destroying the aircraft.
Post-mortem recognition and legacy
After Pam Lychner and her daughters died, the United States Congress passed the "Pam Lychner Sexual Offender Tracking and Identification Act of 1996."
The City of Spring Valley Village posted a bronze statue of Pam Lychner and her daughters, called "Love's Embrace," at the city hall. Pam Lychner Unit, a state jail for men operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in an unincorporated section of Harris County, east of Humble and west of the unincorporated Atascocita development, was named after Lychner. A duplicate of the statue in Spring Valley Village exists near the state jail.
References
- ^ "HC00081F." Legislature of Texas . Accessed October 30, 2008.
- ^ "Photos: 10th Anniversary of Flight 800 Crash." Newsday . Accessed October 30, 2008.
- ^ a b Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press . October 23, 1997. 1.
- ^ Olmeda, Rafael A. "LOCAL REV COMFORTS TWA DAD." New York Daily News . July 31, 1996.
- ^ a b c "Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press . October 23, 1997. 2.
- ^ a b "Background Information on the Act and Its Amendments." Bureau of Justice Assistance of the United States Department of Justice . Accessed October 30, 2008.
- ^ DeLisi, Matt and Peter Conis. Violent Offenders . Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 2008. 275.
- ^ a b Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press . October 23, 1997. 3.
- ^ Zimmermann, Stephanie. "Aurora family copes with double disaster." Chicago Sun-Times . July 21, 1996.
- ^ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press . October 23, 1997. 4.
- ^ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press . October 23, 1997. 5.
- ^ National Transportation Safety Board. "Aircraft Accident Report: In-flight Breakup Over the Atlantic Ocean Trans World Airlines Flight 800 (abstract)". NTSB Aircraft Accident Report . http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2000/aar0003.htm . Retrieved 2008-06-18 .
- ^ Gray, Lisa. "After the Crash." Houston Press . October 23, 1997. 7.
- ^ "Saluting Employees January/February 2003." Texas Department of Criminal Justice . Accessed September 12, 2008.
- ^ "Lychner (AJ)." Texas Department of Criminal Justice . Accessed September 12, 2008.
External links
- Justice for All
- "After the Crash," Houston Press
- "Time hasn't dulled survivor's pain."
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