Red, wooden silhouettes were displayed Monday, Aug. 26, at the Waupaca County Courthouse to remind victims of their rights under Marsy’s Law.
Ratified by voters in Wisconsin in April 2020, Marsy’s Law is an amendment to the state constitution that expands the rights of crime victims.
Waupaca County District Attorney Kat Turner noted that the rights mandated by Marsy’s Law were already beng implemented in Waupaca County.
“It’s something that this office has been committed to long before Marsy’s Law was passed,” Turner said. “Marsy’s Law codified what we were already doing and I’m proud of that.”
Marsy’s Law requires that victims of crime have the right to attend all court hearings, speak at hearings where their rights are implicated, receive notification of all court hearings, confer with the prosecutor, the right to restitution and to provide a victim-impact statement.
Turner said victims also have a right to attend bond hearings, sentencing and restitution hearings, “and any other hearings where the victim would be affected by the outcome.”
Jacob Bina is Waupaca County’s victim-witness coordinator. He said the law’s goal is to ensure that the victim is treated with “dignity, respect and fairness.”
“Victims don’t choose to become victims,” Bina said. “Most of them are not familiar with the court system.”
Bina meets with victims, explains their rights and answers their questions about the process.
Prosecutors also help victims present their story in a way that is clear to the jury.
“It’s important to encourage victim participation within the process and ensure they’re being heard and treated with dignity and respect,” according to Nela Kalpic, executive director with Marsy’s Law of Wisconsin.
She brought the display to the courthouse with the goals of raising awareness of victims’ rights during criminal proceedings and of the victim services provided by the district attorney’s office and the CAP Services’ Family Crisis Center in Waupaca.
CAP Services provides “free and confidential services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Audelina Sanchez, with the Family Crisis Center.
“We give them options and empower them to make their own decisions,” Sanchez said. “We don’t live their lives, so what we may choose for them may not be right for them as they make their own journey.”
First enacted in California, the law is named after Marsalee (Marsy) Ann Nicholas, a Santa Barbara college student who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983.
On week after her murder, her family encountered the suspect at a grocery store. He had been released on bail and the family had not been notified by the court system or law enforcement.
Marsy’s brother, Dr. Henry Nicholas, led a voters’ initiative for the California Victims’ Bill of Rights Bill. It became state law in 2008.
Since then, 21 states have adopted Marsy’s Law in an effort to codify the rights of crime victims.
In an email to the Waupaca County Post, Turner noted, “Marsy’s Law is helping empower victims to have their voices heard throughout the criminal justice process in ways that did not exist prior to its adoption. This inclusion is vital for both the healing process and for achieving justice.”
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