OUR TURN

Dawn’schildhoodwastakenfromherduringyearsofabuseatthehandsof whatshouldhavebeena lovingprotector.Whenherabuserwasfinallyconvicted,Dawnmovedawayfromthestatetoleavethe pain andmemoriesbehind.

Years later, her abuser completed his sentence and applied to have his name removed from the state’s sex offender registry, claiming it prohibited him from accessing subsidized housing.

For years this process went on without anyone contactingDawn.When she finally learned of her accuser’s request, she was devastated that no one was considering the victim. No one was asking her about what shehadsuffered and why it would be dangerous to have him removed from the public sex offender registry.Noonewaslisteningtohervoice.

Dawn explains, “Marsy’s Law offers basic rights for victims: the right to notification, the right to be heard; the right to trial without delays; and the right to restitution.

Thirty-five states guarantee basic rights for victims of crime within their state constitutions. If this law were already in effect in New Hampshire,IwouldhavebeennotifiedandIwouldhavehadavoice.Iwanttomakesurethatnoother victimhastosuffer insilencelikeIdid.”

 

Marsy’sLawseekstoelevatekeyrightsofcrimevictimsintotheNHStateConstitutiontoensurethat victimshaverightsthatequal,instature,theconstitutionalrightsoftheaccusedandconvicted.

Currently,thoseaccusedofcrimesandthoseconvictedofcrimesseetheirrightscomingfromthe Constitution,whereasvictimsdonot,makingvictimssecond-classcitizensinthecourtandinthe criminal justiceprocess.

 

Marsy’sLawdoesnotchangethewaytheaccusedaretreatedbyprosecutors,judgesorinvestigators.

Butitdoesensurethatvictimswillhavetheopportunitytomakesuretheirvoicesareheardthroughoutthe legal process. This is a voice, not a veto.

 

Under Marsy’s Law, there is no more opportunity to falsely claim victimhood than under current laws. AccordingtotheNewHampshireCoalitionAgainstDomesticandSexualViolence(NHCADSV),thereis nodatatoshowthatincreasingvictims’rightsincreasestheinstanceoffalsevictimclaims.

 

It’s important to note that in the 35 other states that have victim rights constitutional amendments; none has reported a significant increase in filings(NHCADSV).

AlsoincludedinMarsy’sLawisaclauseofenforceability,meaningthatifvictimsofcrimefeelthatany of theirrightshavebeenviolated,theywillhavestandingtopetitionthejudgeforaremedy.

Sarah Freeman, a Board member of Turning Points Network, testified at a hearing on CACR 22 or “Marsy’s Law” earlier this month. Her work with an AmeriCorps Victims Assistance Program as a court advocate in Plymouth, N.H., influenced her decision to go to law school and following graduation to work as a Staff Attorney for Safe Horizon based in New York City and the largest victim services organization in the country.

In her testimony Freeman described the shame, humiliation and pain felt by victims of unspeakable abuse; what it’s like to be questioned about it for hours, in front of an audience, by people in positions of authority and facing the implication that the victim was lying or that the abuse was her own fault.

 

“That is the reality now for a victim who is asked to testify in court,” Freeman continued. “It’s what we ask NH residents who have been victimized in the worst way to do to help the state hold the perpetrators accountable. But in return for that courageousness, we afford them no rights of further protection.”

 

When a victim interacts with the criminal justice system, she should be confident that she will be informed about the status of the perpetrator. Whether that person is incarcerated or released, or is subject to bail conditions or protective orders or, is no longer subject to those conditions, the victim’s safety – and her life – may depend on that information.

Marsy’s Law would bring the victim’s rights into balance with those rights already afforded to the accused and convicted.

 

OURTURNisapublicserviceseriesbyTurningPointsNetwork(TPN)servingallofSullivanCountywith offices in Claremont and Newport. We provide wraparound supports for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, stalking and human trafficking and we present violence-prevention education programs in our schools. For more than 40 years, TPN has helped people of all ages move from the darkness of abuse toward the light of respect, healing and hope. For information contact 1.800.639.3130 orwww.turninqpointsnetwork.orgor find us onFacebook.