fwd on victims rights
Virginia Sellner (wch@vcn.com)
Mon, 27 Apr 1998 13:28:12 -0600 (MDT)
Discussion Forum
On April 1st, I stood in
the Capitol Building in
Washington, D.C. with
Ms. Marsha Kight of
Oklahoma City. She was
telling reporters her
story about dealing with
what they call the
American "justice
system." Marsha, you see, had lost a daughter in the
Oklahoma City bombing. You would think that the
justice system would recognize the pain that she had
gone through, and that there would be some way to
keep the trial process less painful. Marsha, like other
families of victims, looked forward to seeing the killer
brought to justice. To bear witness, during the trial, for a
daughter who could not be there. She also looked
forward to making a "victim's impact statement" at the
trial - to having her chance to stand up and say: This is
who my daughter was. This is what was taken from me.
This is what was taken from the world.
But the judge in the trial forced her -- and all the other
victim families -- to make a terrible choice. Either she
could watch the trial proceedings, or she could make a
victim's impact statement later in the trial. She couldn't
do both.
The judge felt it would be unfair to the defendant who
killed 168 men, women and children in cold blood.
Congress tried to pass an emergency measure that
would let the bombing victims participate in all aspects
of the trial -- but the judge said it would violate the U.S.
Constitution.
This highly publicized move pointed out a serious flaw
in our Constitution - a flaw that I'm all too familiar with
from my years of fighting for victims' rights. When they
charge you with a crime in the US, there are countless
laws and procedures to protect you. But if you are the
victim of a crime, you're on your own.
WE NEED TO PASS SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 44
When the founding fathers drafted the Constitution,
they were careful to spell out the many rights of the
accused. That only makes sense -- they were trying to
free themselves from an oppressive, tyrannical state.
In fact, there are 15 separate rights and protections in
the Constitution for people accused of crimes.
But there isn't a single right to protect the victims of
those crimes. I'm sure the authors of the Constitution
never envisioned a time when there would be nine
million victims of violent crime each year in their great
nation. When the Constitution was drafted in 1789,
there weren't even nine million people in the entire
country.
Because of this oversight, the inequities between the
rights of the accused and the rights of the victim are
astounding. Criminals have the right to a speedy trial,
but there are countless examples when victims aren't
even notified that hearings are taking place. Criminals
have protection against excessive fines, but victims
have no right to restitution from convicted offenders.
Criminals have the right to confront their accusers in
court, but victims are often barred from certain portions
of the trial. And when a prisoner is released or
escapes, the victims are rarely notified, putting them in
harm's way. With these disparities, the criminal justice
system that is supposed to protect us can become an
injustice system. I've personally witnessed too many
cases where the victim of a crime is victimized all over
again by this critical imbalance. The Constitution needs
to protect all of us, and right now, it's only doing half the
job.
Twenty-nine states have already amended their
constitutions to protect the rights of violent crime
victims. But that's not enough. Nearly half the country
is unprotected, and there are few guarantees for
victims in federal cases. That's why we need a National
Crime Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment.
The proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution
asks for a few simple rights for victims of violent crime:
The right to be notified of all proceedings.
The right to attend the trial and other proceedings.
The right to be heard at important stages of the criminal
process.
The right to be notified of the release or escape of the
offender.
The right to an order of restitution from the convicted
offender.
The right to have one's safety considered in
determining an offender's release.
The right to be notified of these rights.
As you can see, this does nothing to weaken the
powerful system that is already in place to protect the
accused. This just levels the playing field so that you
and I are represented equally and fairly in the process.
The proposed amendment before Congress right now
has support from both Republicans and Democrats. It
has 41 members of Congress signed on as cosponsor
of the bill. President Clinton has already endorsed it.
But there's still a congressional fight ahead, and in
order to ensure passage, each one of us must make
sure our voice is heard.
You don't even have to leave your seat. JUST LOOK
UP YOUR REPRESENTATIVES and send them an
email letting them know how you feel.
Please take the time to support this amendment. Fight
for it now, so it can fight for you and your loved ones in
the future.
To learn more about how you can help, visit the
National Victims' Constitutional Amendment Network.
______________________________________________
Speak only words of truth.
Speak only of the good qualities of others.
Be a confidant and carry no tales.
Dhyani Ywahoo,"Voices of our Ancestors, Cherokee teachings from the Wisdom
Fire".
Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless
P. O. Box 1232
Cheyenne, WY 82003
wch@vcn.com
http//www.vcn.com/~wch
_______________________________________