runasin.com – Michael is convicted in the Denise Lee murder case
On January 17, 2008, Michael King tragically killed Denise Amber Lee, following her earlier kidnapping and rape.
Despite five desperate calls for help to 9-1-1, including one from the victim himself, police and other emergency personnel arrived too late to intervene. As a result of this incident, a failure was identified in the 9-1-1 staff responsible for Jane Kowalski’s account of events as they appeared in front of her.
The study also revealed national inadequacies in the 9-1-1 system as a whole. As a result of these findings, the Florida legislature passed the Denise Amber Lee Act on April 24, 2008, to support this tragedy and in the hope of preventing such suffering again.
The Denise Amber Lee Foundation, established in June 2008 in memory of Denise Amber Lee, continues to inspire lawmakers to take action.
Currently, enough movement has been made to pass the bill that provides for voluntary training for 9-1-1 operatives. However, Lee’s family is resolute in their endeavor to enact more stringent standards and have christened it ‘Denise’s Law.’
This law would recommend mandatory training and certification for all 9-1-1 dispatchers with the aim of reducing tragic incidents such as the one involving Denise Amber Lee and Michael King – a situation which resulted in her death and saw King sentenced to the death penalty.
