Thursday, July 12, 2012

Pa State Hearings on Supreme Court Ruling

I'm leaving in a few minutes for Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania State Capitol. I'll be testifying before the State Senate Judiciary Committee. I'm setting this to post at lunchtime, which is when I'm scheduled to talk. Thanks to everyone for their support these past few weeks and moving forward, it is greatly appreciated.



                                                                                      July 12, 2012


Testimony of Bobbi J:


Family member of a murder victim of a juvenile killer serving life in prison, opposed to any changes to past sentences in Pennsylvania, proponent for reform of mandatory sentences in the future, with JLWOP maintained as a sentencing option.


Introduction


I’d like to start by thanking the committee for quickly acting upon the Supreme Court ruling and scheduling these hearings. Also, I am grateful that I am able to speak, on behalf of my family, and for those families who find this too painful to endure.




I’m here today as a victim, just a victim. I remember how odd that moniker felt the first time I was referenced that way. I thought my sister was the victim, that her baby was the victim; they were the ones who were murdered. However, I am a victim of the crime committed by my sister’s killer, and time has shown me why that title applies.


I serve on an advocacy board for a National organization of people who are just victims. We have prayed for the past five or six years that this day would never come. I’m just a victim, who has testified before this committee twice, prior to today. I’m just a victim who had all sense of closure and finality in my sister’s brutal murder stripped away by five individuals in Washington, DC, in spite of my best efforts to make them see what that decision would mean. I’m just a victim who stood outside of the Supreme Court during the oral arguments, because law students and people who support the murderers took up all the seats inside. I’m just a victim, whose whole life is in complete upheaval because of all of these things.


On Tuesday of this week, while I was on a call for my job, I got a voice mail from a reporter in Pittsburgh, where I live. The message was to convey that my sister’s killer had filed for an appeal, and would I like to comment. I’m just a victim, who found out on her voicemail that the person who brutally murdered her sister and unborn child, was seeking to be freed.


As I see it, there are three topics of concern, which should be addressed in these hearings. The first is whether these existing sentences are eligible for review, the second is if they are, how can is that best accomplished, and finally how should the law be revised to accommodate the ruling.


Questioning Retroactive Action


I’m not a law scholar, I know enough to get by, and us victims have to learn some of these lessons the hard way. However, in regard to the retroactive application of the Supreme Court ruling, I question why that is the appropriate course of action. The sentences in these cases, cases like my sisters murder, were prosecuted and sentenced under laws that were acceptable at the time.



In 1997, the ‘Crimes Against the Unborn Child Act’ was passed by the Pennsylvania legislature. As I understand it, this means that my sister’s murderer committed 2 murders, not one. However, there is no do over for his sentence or another trial as a result of the new law. The law when he murdered his baby was that the baby didn’t “count”, and so that is what we had to live with. I would present the possibility that this is comparable to now asking for a do over for his sentence. In both cases, the law changed, and it should apply to all cases going forward, not retroactively. 


What if it is retroactive?


If it turns out that the law is retroactive, which I fully anticipate based on how victims rights have been completely ignored on this topic to date, then I beg this committee to find a way to incorporate the victims. The notification on my voicemail regarding the appeal just further fuels my fear that victims all over this state will be completely blindsided or completely unaware of what is happening here. I believe you can make a difference and elevate the perception that we are just the victims, and help our voices be heard. The lack of consideration for the victims of these crimes in the media, the government, and by those Justices in many ways makes us feel like our dead loved ones mean nothing.



How best to make this a reality? That will be a complex endeavor that will require effort and resources that probably do not exist today. There is no mechanism in place to manage this situation. The victims in these cases have moved on, expecting the closure the justice system promised them to stand. For every one of me, who is notified by some reporter, there are probably several more families who have no idea that these killers could go free. In many cases, they probably are not signed up for updates, since we thought LWOP meant just that. Some things to consider include:


1.)         Notification – a notification system needs to be developed. These murder victims have families; those families often participated in the court proceedings or gave impact statements. EVERY single one of these families must be made aware of this ruling and the consequences. I’m sure victims, such as me, would be willing to help determine how to do this.


2.)         Participation – the victims of these crimes MUST be included in any development of a process to hear these cases and evaluate them for an opportunity to be re-sentenced. The glut of appeals filed via the appeal office should be held, immediately, with no action until a statewide process for hearing and judging these appeals is enacted. Anything short of that would be a travesty of justice for both the general public and the victims themselves.


3.)         Respect – It is imperative that victims’ rights be recognized in this process. The concept of victim impact statements and notifications must be part of the appeal process. Furthermore, the process of re-evaluation must be a one-time proceeding, without subjecting the victims to further traumatization for years to come.



I urge this committee and the State Supreme Court, to put the brakes on any appeal proceeding until the above conditions can be explored. To act without the above, would be cruel and unusual punishment for the victims, an irony not lost on me at this point.


Future Laws


The question remains, what to do with the JLWOP in the future. It is critical that you maintain the ability to assign JLWOP in cases that warrant that sentence. Again, I’m no law expert, but for the most part, I think the law works as designed today. The mandated sentences, for first and second-degree murder for juvenile offenders, should be replaced by a hearing to determine if that sentence is appropriate based on the crimes. This will ensure that JLWOP sentences are still available for murderers who kill in cold blood that deserve that sentence. This hearing could be a secondary step in the process of moving the case to Adult court, or a separate hearing closer to trial. In either scenario, a simple examination of the case will help frame the appropriateness of the sentence. For example, if you stab and beat your girlfriend to death, with a knife you brought from home and leave her and your unborn child to bleed to death in a schoolyard.


Conclusion


I thank you again for your swift action on this topic. I urge you to be the voice of reason in a world where we are just the victims. With careful consideration of the issue, and how every action impacts people who have suffered more than you can ever comprehend, you can be the light in our very bleak perception of our place in the Justice system.

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