Sherman Oaks : NOW Event Planned for Slain Woman

A little more than a year ago, Sherri Foreman was murdered outside Great Western Bank in Sherman Oaks while using the automated teller machine.

Today at 11 a.m., the San Fernando Valley chapter of the National Organization for Women will hold a news conference at the bank to remember Foreman and to highlight National Anti-Violence and Victims Rights Week.

Foreman, 29 and pregnant when she died, was stabbed and left for dead behind the same wall that her killer hid behind before attacking her.

The prison parolee who admitted to the murder was sentenced to life in prison.

A few months after her death, NOW was successful in getting the property owner to remove the wall which ringed the bank parking lot.

So it may come as a surprise when NOW announces its opposition to Gov. Pete Wilson’s “one strike you’re out” bill for rapists.

“We’re opposed to any kind of bill that can be seen as grandstanding instead of funneling money where it can be used effectively . . . to help women who have been victimized by crime,” said Jean Morrison, NOW spokeswoman.

Morrison said current rape laws need to be enforced and that the proposed law could backfire.

“One potential effect of the law would be that judges and juries would be less likely to convict, knowing that they’re going to be sending somebody to prison for the rest of his life,” Morrison said.

The group supports the federal crime bill, which it says will help fight the country’s domestic violence problem by funding education and battered women’s shelters.

In the San Fernando Valley, one 35-bed battered women’s shelter services 1.5 million people, Morrison said.

“We need more seed money for shelters so that women who are at risk can get out of dangerous situations,” Morrison said.