Lawmakers and advocates of Raylee's Law continue to vent their displeasure of seeing this bill fail again after years of promotion. Originally introduced in 2020 as HB 4440 by Delegate Shawn Fluharty (D-Ohio) in response to the horrific abuse and death of eight-year-old, Raylee Browning. 

During the trial, testimony arose that the child was malnourished, dehydrated, and had been restricted from food and water as punishment.

Marty Browning Jr. (Raylee's biological father), Julie Titchenell Browning (Raylee's stepmother) and Sherie Titchenell (Julie Browning's sister) were convicted of child neglect and sentenced in August of 2022 to 3-15 years in prison. 

The legislation that resulted from this case has received national attention after more details became known.  She lived in Fayette County and attended public school in a nearby county for a time. During her time there, teachers saw the indicators of abuse such as a broken femur, various bruises and cuts, inappropriate clothing for the weather and excessive absences. Cafeteria workers said Raylee had asked for extra food, another possible indication of neglect at home. 

Public school teachers, as well as medical professionals are mandatory reporters when child abuse or neglect is suspected.  Reports were made to CPS by the public school due to Raylee's condition.  According to some reports, Raylee was admitted to the hospital on several occasions but it is unclear if the hospital contacted CPS.

Even as an infant, Raylee was seen for injuries at a hospital in 2011 and it is unclear if any medical professionals witnessed the signs of abuse and reported it. Janice Wriston, Raylee's biological mother shared custody with the father, Marty Browning, after their relationship turned abusive.

In an article by Anna Saunders for WCHS on December 5, 2025:  "Despite pleas for full custody over fears for Raylee's safety, Wriston said her concerns only grew, especially after Marty pulled her from school."

Questions might be asked about this court proceeding and why a child with indications of abuse and neglect, in which the biological mother has left due to violent behavior of the father, was not protected by our courts. 

Critics of Raylee's Law are often maligned by its supporters, accused of 'defending child abusers' as Delegate Shawn Fluharty (D-Ohio) likes to put it.  But to take pause and look at this case along with the proposed legislation is to realize the solution aims too low. 

According to the Register-Herald in a Dec. 30, 2019 article: "An investigation by Oak Hill Police Department Detective Sgt. James Pack was reportedly hampered by a lack of cooperation from WV Department of Health and Human Resources Child Protective Services, which had an open file on Raylee at the time she died.  Oak Hill Police Department Chief Mike Whisman on Dec. 11 verified a Dec. 10 report by a Fayette official that CPS had not speedily submitted to police requests for CPS records on Raylee.  When OHPD received Raylee's files in November, officials said, they were not complete." (emphasis added)

In September of 2021, Raylee's biological mother, Janice Wriston, brought a federal lawsuit against the WV Department of Health and Human Resources on behalf of her eight-year-old daughter. 






From her case, she claimed that: 

"During the calendar year of 2018, R.B [Raylee Browning] was the subject of "multiple abuse and neglect reports" made to Defendants DHHR, Child Protective Services (CPS) and Joseph Sorrent (collectively, "Defendants").  Among these reports, some made by "mandatory reporters" as defined by WV Code §49-2-803, included that R.B was in the "care, custody, and control of individuals unfit to provide her care" and that she was "beaten by wooden and metal objects, starved, forbidden to drink water, and forced to wear a diaper and sleep on the floor".

Further, the Plantiff, Janice Wriston, alleges that the Oak Hill, West Virginia, Police Department conducted an investigation, but that investigation was "hampered by a lack of cooperation by the Defendants" through the untimely and incomplete submission of records. She alleges additionally that the Defendants "willfully and recklessly falsified records to hide the abuse of R.B" 

Quoting further from the federal case: 

"R.B suffered cardiac arrest on December 26, 2018, and the local authorities were called to the hospital.  Plaintiff alleges that R.B.'s "body had multiple bruising and abrasions as a result of assault/molestation" and "an investigation in this matter revealed that the home was manifestly unfit for R.B. care... and that the "Defendants actions and inactions and conduct...ultimately resulted in the death of the said R.B."    

Ms. Wriston, the Plaintiff,  further claimed that the "Defendants allegedly "failed to properly investigate and inspect the dangerous, unfit and unsafe living conditions that existed in the home...and failed to ensure that the home was safe, fit and suitable for children."