[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 25772]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       SHANNON MELENDI AWARENESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, October 20, 2009 should have marked 
the 35th birthday of Shannon Denise Melendi; instead, she will be 
forever the 19-year-old victim of kidnapping and rape whose life was 
tragically ended at the hands of a ruthless killer.
  Shannon was a gifted young college sophomore from Miami attending 
Emory University in Atlanta. In Miami, at Southwest High School, my 
alma mater, she was president of the junior and senior class and a 
champion orator who was captain of the debate team for 3 years. She was 
also in the National Honor Society and graduated cum laude in the top 3 
percent of her class.
  As a member of the Legal Eagles club, Shannon was an aspiring 
attorney whose ultimate goal was to sit on the Supreme Court. During 
her senior year, Shannon even spoke before the United Nations and 
Congress.
  With grand dreams and a promising future ahead of her, nothing could 
have turned out to be more tragic than her disappearance. The news was 
devastating to her home community as it was to the Atlanta area where 
she had already established herself as a bright individual with an even 
brighter future.
  She disappeared without a trace on March 26, 1994 while working at a 
part-time job at a softball country club. Shortly after, the first 
10,000 posters and 60 billboards went up in Atlanta with Shannon's 
picture declaring her missing. Not long after that, her father, Luis 
Melendi, had the signs changed to ``kidnapped.''
  Calvin ``Butch'' Hinton was named as a suspect. He was a coworker and 
an umpire she knew through her part-time job. Many pieces of evidence 
linked him to the disappearance of Shannon, but unfortunately not 
enough for a solid case. In a strange twist of fate, this demented man 
burned down his own home to keep the authorities from investigating him 
further, but he was sentenced to 9 years in prison for fraud when he 
tried to collect insurance on that house fire.
  Then, more than 11 years after Shannon had disappeared, Hinton had 
just been released from prison when he was rearrested and placed on 
trial for Shannon's murder. After many heart-wrenching moments in the 
trial, the verdict came back guilty and Hinton was sentenced to life in 
prison.
  Because of the atrocious acts of this horrible man, a bright young 
life was extinguished and the world is forever poorer because of it. 
Chillingly, though, this murderer is up for parole in 2011. With the 
confessed perpetrator behind bars, we have the comfort of knowing that 
no other person can fall victim to him, and that is why we should fight 
to keep him there in prison. Unfortunately, many perpetrators are 
roaming the streets today still preying on the most innocent of 
victims. Let us make sure that Calvin Hinton is not one of them.
  Shannon's parents, Luis and Yvonne, as well as her sister, Monique, 
are still active today in efforts to protect children by strengthening 
our laws and protecting and educating youth and their families about 
violence and perpetrators. They honor their daughter and their sister, 
Shannon, and the countless other children like Shannon through their 
work. Shannon's story must serve as a reminder to students that they 
must always be aware of their surroundings and stay safe.
  As a mother and grandmother, I cannot imagine the heartache the 
Melendis have gone through. Luis Melendi still speaks to high school 
seniors about the dangers posed by perpetrators and reminds them that 
this could happen to anyone. Last week, on what should have been their 
daughter's 35th birthday, the Melendi family spoke to the students at 
Coral Shores High School in Tavernier to keep Shannon's memory alive 
and to drive home the idea of being aware and being safe. With these 
efforts and the laws that we pass, we can help protect our Nation's 
youth.
  It is in honor and remembrance of Shannon Melendi that I urge my 
colleagues to remain champions and protectors of our youth. Through the 
life of Shannon Melendi we know that even though it was short, we can 
make sure that the lessons learned from her murder last eternally.
  I thank the Speaker for the time, and we will always remember 
Shannon.

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