Childhood Abuse

Janisse Ray was the daughter of Franklin and Lee Ray. The family lived in a rural area just outside of the small town of Baxley, Georgia. Janisse had one sister and two brothers, all of whom lived under the strict and harsh rules of their domineering father. Lee rarely touched any of her children—she reasoned with them or made them feel guilty in order for them to behave. Franklin, on the other hand, used his wide leather belt on the kids, whipping them brutally when they got out of line or disobeyed him. On one occasion, they were punished for allowing another kid to abuse a turtle. He wanted to teach them that they had to speak up in the face of animal abuse. Ironically, in order to teach them to stand up for abused animals, he thought it was perfectly fine to abuse his...