In August 2017 an air traffic controller named Justin Schneider kidnapped a young Alaska Native woman, told her he was going to kill her, strangled her until she lost consciousness, and then ejaculated on her face and hair.

The survivor was a willing participant in the investigation and testified at a grand jury hearing where Schneider was indicted on three felony charges.

On September 19th 2018 the prosecutor offered a plea deal that reduced the charges to one single assault conviction and gave no jail time. The prosecutor referred to the plea deal as Justin Schneider’s “one pass.” The judge authorized the plea deal and Schneider walked out of court a free man.

The next day No More Free Passes was born, a grassroots campaign built by Alaskans who are tired of seeing violent offenders walk free.

We organized, we marched, we spoke out, and we gained our first victory when we successfully voted out Judge Corey who presided over the case.

In the winter of 2019, we successfully lobbied for legislative changes to fix some of the failings in statute that contributed to Justin Schneider’s sentence. We helped pass HB14 which closed the semen loophole, increased penalties for strangulation, ended sentence credit for time spent on house arrest for violent crimes, and ensured that victim’s have their voice heard in plea deals.

We continue to fight for a safer Alaska by advocating for increased funding for the prosecution of violent crimes, lobbying for legislative changes, and continuing to hold judges accountable for their rulings on domestic violence and sexual assault.

We say enough is enough. No more free passes.