What Modern Day Heroes Look Like—Detroit Mother Maryanne Godboldo & Attorney Allison Folmar
by Kelly Patricia O’Meara
Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
It has been said that “heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.”
Attorney Allison Folmar (left) and Detroit mother Maryanne Godboldo (right)
Maryanne Godboldo and Allison Folmar are extraordinary women. Their names may not elicit immediate recognition by the masses but it is because of their belief in the right of parents—not the state—to decide whether to medicate a child, that their struggle will protect thousands of children who otherwise would have become victims of deeply flawed State Child Protective Services policies.
It’s been two years since Detroit mother, Maryanne Godboldo, withstood an armed assault by a SWAT team and a tank, assault weapons and helicopter, accouterments worthy of a Die Hard film, determined to kidnap, by force, her then 13-year old daughter, Ariana. The alleged crime? Godboldo refused to give Ariana harmfulpsychiatric drugs.
The 55-year old Godboldo, after an hours-long standoff, gave herself up to police, was taken into custody and charged with multiple felony counts.Worse, though, was that 13-year old Ariana was taken into state custody while Godboldo’s case worked its way through the court system.
