Some Facts the Judge Left Out

In his final written Order, Judge Mangum suddenly felt the need to quote extensively from affidavits submitted on behalf of Mr. Mills. Some of these affidavits were written by Venessa Mills' family and so-called friends, and some were written by ex-members of her church.

Of course, Judge Mangum did not quote from any of the rebuttal affidavits, but here are few facts that help to provide some perspective.

1. One affidavit was submitted by a former church member who lives in England and has no personal knowledge or connection with the Mills family whatsoever.

2. Another affidavit was submitted by a former church member who left the church around 20 years ago - and also has absolutely no personal knowledge of the Mills family.

3. Another affidavit was submitted by a former church member with a history of attacking her previous churches. She was pushed out of the church she attended before Sound Doctrine Church due to similar slanderous attacks. The pastor of Sound Doctrine Church was personally warned about this by her previous pastor.

4. Several of these ex-members have been engaged in a slander campaign against the church for years, including the creation of a fake MySpace website claiming to represent "Timothy Williams" and containing grossly false information - which was found to be clearly fraudulent and removed by MySpace management. Specific evidence of this, and other activities, was submitted to Judge Mangum.

5. Venessa Mills family and friends may have had minor, yet genuine, concerns based on their own misunderstanding or disagreement with Venessa's religious beliefs. However, when they came to write affidavits, they had all been influenced - either directly or indirectly - by the gossip and slander fed to them by this small group of former church members, or otherwise circulated on the internet. They must bear a responsibility of what they've done, but it is tragic to see them being used in such a calculating manner by former church members with their own agenda, and by Mr. Mills and his attorney with their own agenda.

However, despite being armed with these real facts, these were the affidavits that Judge Mangum conveniently found to be "most credible and informative" - and, moreover, went so far as to find as "fact." These gossip pieces were very thinly disguised as legal documents, but - after initially making no reference to them - Judge Mangum chose to select the most sensationalized quotes to feature in his final written Order.

We appreciate your continued support as Venessa Mills fights against the vicious slanders directed against her and her children, her religious beliefs, her church, and - not forgetting - her right to homeschool.