By: Kimberly Osborne
Posted In: News
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do or say can be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to legal counsel and if you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you.
As Anne-Marie D’Allessio, director of the Rhode Island Victims Advocacy and Support Center (RIVASC), noted, criminals are read their rights. But victims? “When you become a victim of a crime does anyone read anything to you?” D’Allessio asked at a recent public forum in Newport, Rhode Island.
Only three people attended the public forum, held at Newport City Hall at the end of March, to raise awareness and gain support for a proposed victims’ rights amendment to the state constitution.
According to advocates, RIVASC has been experiencing a negative response to its statewide series of forums with a disappointing turnout and little support from Rhode Island officials.
D’Allessio told those who attended the forum that, compared to other states, Rhode Island is light-years behind on the victims’ rights movement and that calling attention to that fact has not convinced any state officials to stand up for the cause. According to the advocate, Rhode Island senators are reluctant to support an issue that deals with the constitution yet offer no alternative remedies.
D’Allessio also said that while there are rights that victims are entitled to, no one is making the victim aware of them or explaining things in a way that people can understand. D’Allessio believes that with that knowledge, the victim would have power and would be less likely to be taken advantage of.
After working on behalf of victims’ rights, Sue Winter, a member of RIVASC, said she was told that a copy of the victims’ bill of rights would be posted outside every Rhode Island courtroom. As time goes on, though, Winter said, she continues to check courthouses only to find that no victims’ bill of rights has been posted.
Winter said that the Newport Police are very helpful initially in explaining what is going to happen to a victim. Once a case goes to court, though, Winter said, she believes that victims are taken advantage of. The legal system does not want to take the time to listen to a victim who may change the way the events are expected to unfold in court.
Bryn O’Conor, a native of Northern Ireland who now lives in Rhode Island, recalled the lack of attention and respect paid to as a victim of domestic violence. At a Rhode Island courthouse, a judge told O’Conor that domestic violence is often blown out of proportion, and O’Conor was not made aware until after the fact that her husband’s charges had been reduced.
“We are terrorized by a justice system that pays us no attention,” said O’Conor.
The U.S. Constitution gives people who commit crimes 23 rights, with 15 provided as amendments. Victims have none. The victims’ rights amendment that RIVASC and others are proposing contains seven rights for crime victims. They include the right to:
* reasonable notice of any public proceeding involving the crime
* reasonable notice of any escape or release of the accused
* not be excluded from any public proceeding involving the crime, and
* the right to be heard.
The amendments also stress adjudicative decisions that duly consider the victim’s safety, the victim’s interest in avoiding unreasonable delay and the victim’s just and timely claims to restitution from the offender.
Supporters of this amendment include President George W. Bush, Attorney General Ashcroft and former President Bill Clinton, along with many other people and organizations.
Among those supporters at the local level is O’Conor, who has lived with the experience firsthand. “You cannot undo your history,” O’Conor said at the forum. “But you can change your future and someone else’s.”
