Free Republic

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week to acknowledge the abuse and trauma that victims of crimes often experience, and to recognize the tireless work of dedicated advocates who have taken up the cause of supporting crime victims across our country. Thanks to the efforts of these individuals, more victims are receiving the care they deserve and accessing tools to empower them as they recover. This week, we express our appreciation for those who support crime victims, and we reaffirm our strong commitment to reducing the trauma of crime for victims and their loved...

CNN.com has an important and telling story up on the website right now, talking about the family and friends of Virginia Tech victim Jeremy Herbstritt. In CNN's words, "Jeremy's loved ones are fighting to replace those images with thoughts of their son and other victims of the massacre, by publicly celebrating his legacy." That's a truly great message. We really, honestly, should be focusing on the lives of the people who were taken from this world, and not on the psychotic rant of a madman killer. We should be talking about the good done by these everyday people who are...

Crime Victims Support PoochigianQUICKTIME required

SACRAMENTO -- It was one of those "oops!" moments everybody should have seen coming. But not everybody did, at least on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's staff. In one of a series of media events he held last week to polish his law-and-order credentials for his re-election campaign, the Republican governor announced he planned to sponsor a "Crime Victims Bill of Rights." It seemed like a run-of-the-mill event until Democratic Assemblywoman Nicole Parra put out a press release a couple of hours before the governor's Tuesday event in Oakland, announcing she planned to attend and "present" her proposed ballot measure that would...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in Oakland today that he supports state legislation that would give crime victims new rights. Accompanied by local police chiefs and several high profile crime victims, Schwarzenegger also said he has appointed Susan Fisher of Sacramento to the newly-created position of Crime Victim Advocate and that he is expediting a program to use global positioning systems to track dangerous criminals. He said he supports "The Crime Victims Bill of Rights," a comprehensive legislative proposal authored by Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, to help crime victims overcome the hardships caused by criminal acts. Schwarzenegger said he has directed...

"A glorified patronage mill," that's how Assemblyman Peter Barnes describes the state's Victims of Crime Compensation Board (VCCB) which was designed to use monetary penalties that were imposed on criminals to help compensate their victims for their pain and suffering. He says, "Instead of protecting and advocating for crime victims, the board too often came under fire for being concerned about maintaining its status quo of bloated salaries." Under a bill Barnes is co-sponsoring in the Assembly, the VCCB would be streamlined to consist of an executive director and an unpaid hearing board advisory panel. The current chairman of the...

The teenagers all know what the "stop-snitching" T-shirts mean - even if their parents don't. Waiting outside John F. Kennedy High School after class Thursday, 10th grader Victor Arellano said that even though he doesn't own one, his classmates are still wearing the shirts that were a hot summertime fad. "That means stop telling on other people what goes on the streets - hustling," Arellano said. Some adults, including 1st Ward Councilman Anthony Davis, have voiced concern about the fashion that they say promotes drug dealing and discourages people from cooperating with the police. "It's not a positive thing to...

They've stated their case to the Lubbock County Commissioners, now, the Criminal Defense Lawyers Association is waiting for an answer. The Association wants Commissioners to remove a victim's memorial stone on the courthouse lawn. They believe a quote on the stone could influence jurors and prevent fair trials. The quote reads: "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." Defense attorneys say the problem is not the memorial, but the monument. Documents originally asked for grant money for the garden and the benches, but does not say anything about the monument,...

Gov. Bush addressing law enforcement officers and students serving on safety patrol. Bush signs victim rights bills Tuesday, April 23, 2002 By JACKIE HALLIFAX, Associated Press TALLAHASSEE - Battered women won't have to pay $50 to seek protective orders and sexually assaulted children will be able to learn the HIV status of their attackers under bills Gov. Jeb Bush signed into law Monday. Other legislation the governor signed would make judges either tell crime victims their rights or post those rights on the courtroom doors. Ashley Aronson, a Tallahassee woman, was one of the victims flanking the governor as he...