Justice Exists For All: "Minus the State Of Oklahoma"

By Susan Murphy Milano

"The purpose of the Eleventh Commandment is to maintain the promise that justice exists for all; that no one should be able to subvert, avoid, or deceive the due process of law. Whether it involves affecting change in elected office, statuatory process or public opinion, the Eleventh Commandment will be there. There are those who may attempt it, but thou shalt not get away with it"

In the state of Oklahoma, specifically Garvin County, justice has literally been removed, erased whatever you would like to call it for the families of Chanda Turner and Shiela Deviney. Both of these women lost their lives as a direct result of intimate partner homicide. The elected officials, law enforcement and political powers in the State of Oklahoma have not only decided never to investigate, bring forth charges and arrest the husband and boyfriend in these cases. But they gave each of the suspects the blessing allowing them to tamper with crime scene evidence after each murder, right under the nose and likely with the old west mentality of law enforcement.

The Sheriff' in my opinion has used everything in its' corrupt and crooked magic bag to harass and personally threaten each of the families. It is likely the Garvin County Sheriff's office is still operating under 1850's old west procedures when it relates to the murdering of a wife and a girlfriend. The current Sheriff might want to change the language on its' current website it reads "the office of the sheriff is one of antiquity. It is the oldest law enforcement known within the common-law system and it has always been accorded great dignity and trust."

CHANDA TURNER, just 23 years old, was shot to death at her home in Paul's Valley on July 12, 2000. Her boyfriend claimed she shot herself while he slept through the sound of gunfire, then found her outside on the backsteps after she was dead. Crime scene photos depict blood throughout the inside of the home, including on the mattress he claimed he was asleep on. The mattress had been stripped of sheets; no one asked where they went. There were more signs of clean-up in the bedroom, including a bottle of cleaning solution on the floor. The boyfriend had fresh scratches on his arms, and Chanda was covered in bruises. There were signs of a struggle in the livingroom, including broken furniture.

Sheila Deviney, 30, died on Jan. 6, 2004 when her trailer house, located about one mile east and one mile south of Maysville, Oklahoma, burned to the ground. She was murdered. It should be no surprise that Sheila was married to an abusive controlling man. They had a court date over past due child scheduled the next day. According to eye witnesses, her ex-husband was at the trailer, although divorced, and by law not allowed on the premises, he and another friend destroyed evidence and took items from the home.

Where are my manners? I forgot to discuss the "participation" more like spitting in a spitoon of the District Attorney's office, both past and current administrations's have been non-existent. The office refuses to open the cases. They will not take calls from the families who have important documents and information. They refuse to give a damn!

Perhaps it has something to do with the person whom now heads up the investigations for the District Attorney's office? Oh wait I remember now, he was an investigator on both the Chanda Turner and the Sheila Deviney case's.

Because of the blatant disregard for justice not only in these 2 murders but through out the state a newly formed alliance of concerned and committed citizens was created and appropriately titled the "Eleventh Commandment" to counter a growing plague of police corruption, political apathy and administrative malfeasance all of which played a part in the untimely murders of a number of local citizens which have yet to be solved.

Their Mission: is to maintain the promise that justice exists for all; that no one should be able to subvert, avoid, or deceive the due process of law. The members and supporters of this organization work tirelessly to uphold the lawful efforts of legitimate law enforcement officers, district attorneys, judges and the zealous advocates in the public defenders office as well as congressional legislators and the common man. They also work just as fiercely to expose those who would corrupt our way of life with vice, graft, corruption, deceipt, brutality and murder.

We can all take a page or two from the families in these cases. When the bolder was dropped at the door to enter the legal system on their journey for justice, they refused give up.

In addition,the newly formed team of “Intimate Partner Homicide Investigation” with Sheryl McCollum, Director of the Cold Case Institute, Holly Hughes, former Atlanta Prosecutor turned defense attorney and Susan Murphy Milano have joined the battle cry seeking justice in both of these women’s cases. We aired and presented each case over the past 2 weeks on blogtalk radio. Our broadcasts alone was in our opinion more than enough to have both the Turner and Deviney case re-opened.

According to Sheryl McCollum “although we will never know what forensic evidence was present because the crime scene was not secured properly in either of the cases, other evidence provided is more than enough to investigate and demand each case be re-opened.”

McCollum goes on to say and in Chanda Turner’s case “ We know from photographs that there was blood spatter evidence that was not considered, we know from forensic reports that there was primer residue evidence that was ignored.

Defense Attorney Holly Hughes and a former prosecutor out of Atlanta believes that the Gavin County Prosecutor in refusing to open both the Turner and Deviney cases is" covering up for those who did not properly do their jobs. It is clear from the photo's of the fire in the Deviney case that the "good old boys" will not prevail."

"Heads are about to roll as we along with our interactive sponsor Websleuths.com bust these 2 cases wide open. Perhaps the Prosecutor has a memory lapse, practing his own version of "blue light special" justice forgetting that he was elected by the people, taking an oath, placing his hand on the bible, swearing to do a job and ensure justice."

And one final note to the Law Enforcement and Prosecutors of Garvin County, as a veteran with over 20 years experience in Intimate Partner Homicide, I will not allow you nor anyone else to continue "pissing" as you have on the graves of Sheila Deviney and Chanda Turner. I am not fearful of your threats to locate and silence me. It did not work in 1989, when my father a violent crimes detective murdered my mother.

This blog gentlemen says it all for each of you "Time's Up."

"My Cry For Help"

By Susan Murphy-Milano

I am posting this in hopes you will take a moment to help me.

I can jump up and down all day long and never drive the point across enough that violence in the home is the slaughter of innocent victims and their children dying at the hands of men who believe they hold the ultimate power to play God, killing and erasing human lives.

I am embarrassed to this day, although more than 20 years have passed to say how I became an expert in the issue of abuse, stalking and intimate partner homicide and officer related domestic violence. I am ashamed to have grown up in a home where the man who gave me life, a law enforcement officer, my father, regularly terrorized and beat my mother.

As a small child the only aide I could offer my mom was to pull the chair from the kitchen table up to the telephone so I could call someone for help while my father was beating my mother bloody. The moment I found my mom’s body lying in her own pool of blood dead of a single gunshot wound to the head I lost my entire world.

After my parents died I would create a world like no other, a world I knew all too well. A world under my watch a woman and her child would no longer be terrorized, beaten or living in constant fear. A world where prosecutors and law enforcement did their jobs when I took a victim's case of stalking or domestic violence. A world where when a woman was murdered I stood with the family demanding answers and justice. A world where thousands of victim’s calls for help regardless of the hour were answered and directed to services 24/7 and are thriving because of it today. A world created because I refused to allow another woman like my mother to die on my watch.

Fast forward to my life today, twenty years later working towards the same goals with a mad scientist like fever to come up with the cure. A cure created to protect victims of domestic violence and stalking alive away from dangerous controlling and potentially lethal abusers. A cure, that if I cannot prevent a tragedy because I am unable to be there personally directing the victim to safety, at least when they are found murdered, or they are reporte d missing by the loving husband or concerned boyfriend, justice will prevail even from the grave.

Yes, the cure is here and now available.
Spread the word about the prescription. I need your help to accomplish this important milestone. Without you the victims will continue filling the cemetaries.

I could ask you to do a shout-out to Oprah, Gayle King, Jane Velez- Mitchell, Anderson Cooper, Bill O’Reilly, Lis Wheil or Nancy Grace that may be effective if your email can get past the spam filter, providing its read, and a live person responds, but that is not as powerful as your voice.

Each time you read a story on the Internet of another stalking or domestic violence related death post a comment with the link to the “Time’s Up” book and Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit and Video which has step-by-step instructions in Chapter 4 for a victim to create (example of the video is below). Let others know the prescription is now available for world-wide use to every victim of stalking and domestic violence. Send an email each time to a reporter after you see a story on domestic violence and tell them about the prescription. Write the producers of news and crime shows so they mention it each time they discuss a tragic case where another woman has been murdered and the person of interest has yet to be arrested. Ask bloggers, Internet sites the drudge report, huffington post, smoking gun, mom logic or reporters, radio show personalities to consider writing a review on the information and strategies in the book. Also, if you would, leave a comment on Amazon.com.

Time’s Up' is more than a manual, a handbook, it’s more than just another book, it’s a ‘Lifesaver,’ a surefire roadmap chocked full of ways to document evidence and protect yourself; in protecting yourself, you are also protecting your children from a life with an abuser. With your help we will eventually see a copy of ‘Time’s Up’ in every library, every police department, every school, every church and every shelter where those who need help can utilize it and protect themselves from an abuser.

"Times Up" needs national exposure. It wasn't written to impress the professionals. It was written to save lives.” Peter Hyatt, Investigator, State of Maine Statement Analysis Labratory for Scientific Interrogation.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Since this was written in 2010 there is a new website available where victims and advocates alike can get information about the Evidentiary Abuse Affidavit: Document The Abuse.Com





Been there, done that…” Susan Murphy- Milano has turned a tired phrase into demonstrable realism through the gift of her newly published book, "TIME'S UP: A GUIDE ON HOW TO LEAVE AND SURVIVE ABUSIVE AND STALKING RELATIONSHIPS

Natalee Holloway: Re-injury Cycle

By Sheryl McCollum

How much more does Beth and Dave have to endure from this guy?  Joran Van der Sloot has confessed yet again.  He now claims to have “dumped her in a swamp”.  This is their baby he is talking about.  The media of course seizes on this story with frenzy.  This information surfaced in 2009 but we are just hearing about it as though it is breaking developments. Its old news and Aruba will do nothing with it – standard procedure from them.

What does this latest “confession” mean?  Is this last “confession” enough to convict him?  Could it be that he is trying to get on TV?  Is he trying to send searchers away from where the body is?  Is he just hurting the people who loved Natalee?  Is he just a pathological liar?  Does he know where Natalee’s body was disposed of but gets off during every search?   

Review

·       May 30, 2005 Natalee missed flight home

·       Early morning hours was seen leaving a bar with Van der Sloot

·       Last Known Person Seen with Victim

·       At first Van der Sloot claims was he did not know Natalee

·       Then claimed she was drunk and preformed oral sex on him

·       Then he stated he dropped her off at the Holiday Inn

·       Days later he fingered two black hotel security guards

·       June 5^th the security guards sre arrested

·       June 9^th 10 days after Natalee disappearance Van der Sloot is arrested

·       On June 10, 2005, Joran claimed that the Kalpoes dropped him off at his house and drove off with Natalee.

·       On June 11, the Kalpoes said they actually left Joran and Natalee at the beach

·       On June 17, police arrested Steven Croes, a local disc jockey who played music at bars and on a party boat called the Tattoo. Croes was a friend of Joran and Deepak and backed up their story that they had dropped Natalee off at the Holiday Inn after riding around the island in Deepak's car.

·       Ten days later a judge decided that although Croes had lied to police, he wasn't directly tied to Natalee's disappearance.

·       June 18 and 19, Aruban police spent a total of seven hours questioning Joran's father, a lawyer who was training to become a judge. Four days later the police arrested him.

·       On June 26, without explanation, a fellow judge ordered Paulus van der Sloot released from custody

·       Joran said he lied about taking Natalee back to her hotel because he was scared. "I didn't want anyone to know," he told ABC News. "I didn't want anyone to know I left her at the beach. I lied because, yeah, I was scared. I had a girlfriend at the time. I didn't want my dad to think bad of me. I didn't want my friends to think bad of me."

·       In another version of the story, this one reported by Jossy Mansur, editor of the Aruban newspaper Diario, Joran told police investigators that he suspected Deepak may have returned to the beach after dropping him off at home.

·       According to the police report the suspect J.A.P. van der Sloot, the suspect D. Kalpoe had returned to the girl after having left her sleeping on the beach. To our question to the suspect J.A.P. van der Sloot what he thought had happened between the girl Natalee Holloway and the suspect D. Kalpoe, he declared that he thought that the suspect D. Kalpoe raped and killed the girl. To solve the problem, Joran again adjusted his story. He said he walked home from the beach, a 30 to 40 minute walk.

·       Later, Joran changed his story again. He called Deepak for a ride, he said, but Satish picked him up instead, in Deepak's car.

·       Then on August 26, Aruban cops arrested the Kalpoes again, citing "new facts and circumstances" that implicated the brothers and others in "premeditated murder and rape." Six days later, on September 1, a judge ordered the police to release Joran. The next day, the judge ordered the release of the Kalpoe brothers.

·       On April 27, a team of 20 Dutch forensic investigators began two days of searching and digging at the van der Sloot estate on Aruba.

·       Jordan writes a book about the case 2007

·       February 3, 2008 Van der Sloot “Confessed” in vehicle on an undercover camera that Natalee began convulsing and died and a friend disposed of the body

·       An Aruban Judge denied the arrest warrant based on the tapes

·       November 2008 Van der Sloot gave an interview where he stated he sold Natalee into “white slavery” and his father paid off police officers

·       February 2010 it was reported that Van der Sloot “Confessed” to a friend in 2009 that he “dumped her in the marsh”

·       Aruban authorities dismiss this latest information as “unbelievable”

Aruban authorities have dismissed every single bit of evidence and did not look for others. 

Joran’s home was not searched until June 15, 2005.  What could be covered up, destroyed or altered in just over 15 days? 

This case is a textbook study for re-victimization.  The arrogance of the number one suspect only compounds the damage.  Every “confession” and lie was just retracted as though it was no big deal.  He has stated that he would “hate Natalee” if he met her for putting him through this.  The title of his book refers to what happened to him.  He stated he was “shaking the bitch” on the beach saying “what’s wrong with you man”.  Now that daddy is gone and can’t pay off police and can’t stop Joran from running his mouth will we get another confession soon?

Who Really Cares About Missing Persons?

Everyone reads the headlines when a body is recovered or remains are found.  Like rubber necks at an accident scene, we want to know what happened and why in all the grisly details.  The media covers the scene, hovering around like bees to honey trying to get the inside scoop and be the first to report along with pictures and video.   A body is brought forth, identified and justice is served.  As if reality was that simple!

When it comes to missing persons, in most cases, headlines aren't screaming, the public gives a cursory look and then goes on to then next page.  The news is covered with the young, blond white girls from good families and the talk shows are brimming with family members eager to be a part of something that may give their loved one the exposure needed to remind us not to forget.  It looks like these missing persons are getting much deserved coverage, but what is reported is only the tip of the iceberg.

The general public has no clue of the scope of this global epidemic.  According to figures from the FBI, there are almost a million missing persons reported each year.  That number is growing year by year.  How does this happen?  How can that many people be unaccounted for?  Yes, many are teen runaways, many are just looking to start a new life, but many more are never found until it's too late.  Human trafficking and sex slavery is now coming into the forefront of the news as more and more young people and children are vanishing without a trace.

What's Going On In Chicago?

Recently the case of 12 year old Chicago girl, Jahmeshia Connor, who was found dead in an alley after being missing almost two weeks, has sparked a flame under Chicago media.  After facts of the case were brought to light by online writers, it seems the media is reporting one missing person after another from the Chicago area.  Is it a coincidence?  If it had not been for the watchful eyes of Susan Murphy Milano, and organizations like Peas in Their Pods, LostNMissing, Inc., Peace4 the Missing, Please Help Missing Children and others, Jahmeshia Connor and those that have followed may have been relegated to nothing but a report filed by the family.

Who has been searching for these girls?  Some of them have been missing quite some time, longer than would be expected, and some families did not file missing persons reports immediately, some probably following the advice of a police officer that told them to wait and see.  THERE IS NO WAIT AND SEE WHEN A PERSON IS MISSING!  The public's misconception is there is a mandatory waiting period, that is false.  All police departments are to take a missing persons report on the spot, with the facts stated by those who know the person and the circumstances of their disappearance best.  Time is always of the essence.

Myths and Legends

There is also a definite misconception in the way most parents view the nation wide Amber Alert.  Most think that if their child is missing all they do is dial 911 and it's issued.  That's another myth.  There are strict guidelines that must be followed and criteria that must be met before an Amber Alert is issued.  Many children do not qualify.  Many missing children fall through the cracks of the system and families are disappointed, rightly so.  This gap in the system has forced organizations like Peas In Their Pods to generate the "Rilya Alert" when a child is missing.  Regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, or circumstances, as long as a police report has been filed, a Rilya Alert will go out, indicating to a growing network to get the word out and find this child!

Cases of missing adults present an even more complicated set of predicaments.  The circumstances of an adult going missing varies more than child abductions or teen runaways.  An adult has the right to leave a family and start a new life, as unfair as this sounds, there is nothing a spouse or children can do about it according to the laws of the day.  This makes filing a report and expecting an investigation by authorities redundant.  In most cases a family member has to take on the task of investigating and tracking down their missing adult.

Yes, They Care


So who really cares about missing persons?  Fortunately for family members there are organizations like CUE Center for Missing Persons, Project Jason, 411 Gina, Track Missing, Texas Equusearch and others who devote time and resources to step in and search.  Searching for a missing person is only one facet of the tasks these organizations perform.  They work closely with the law enforcement agents in charge, they organize posters and awareness campaigns, they comfort and support the families, often at their own expense.  They train search and recovery teams, both human and animals, to perform the job of bringing a loved one back to the family that cares for them.

Even if we don't have a missing loved one, how long does it take to stop, take a harder look at a poster hanging in a store or on a telephone pole?  Everyone can do a small part in aiding these families by paying attention, look at a situation that isn't right, and do something to correct it.

Laws are being presented to Congress that will insure that missing persons cases will be handled in a more uniform manner.  By supporting the passage of The Help Find The Missing Act (HR3695 Billy's Law) we are showing our support for the families of missing loved ones.  We are also giving a name to the thousands of unidentified remains that are housed all over the country and reconnecting them with their families.

When a person goes missing there are so many victims.  A whole family, a whole community and a whole country are subjected to the fears, anxieties, and worries about a person who is gone.  Who really cares about a missing person?  Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends, and many, many strangers who step up daily to help and support.

CUE Center's website says it best:  "Every missing person is somebody's child."

Breaking Through: Why is there still resistance to victim rights in the justice system?

Since so many countries have granted rights to crime victims, guaranteed in legislation, surely this means that each and every victim will receive the full benefit of these rights?

Unfortunately, no.

Rights for victims of crime and abuse of power has been a popular political issue for some time; after all, what office-holder would want to be seen as being against helping the injured and weak?

While the actions of politicians and governments have been welcomed, we need to recognize that simply enacting a law -- or legislating a right -- into existence does not mean it will be willingly accepted, completely embraced, actively promoted and fully funded by all the individuals, agencies and services it will affect.

While victims of crime receive sterling service from the vast majority of criminal justice system, there are constant reports from victims of both individuals and (at times) entire offices offering poor service or showing a lack of empathy. This resistance to supplying the information, services and support which law or policy requires that victims be given becomes the source of a form of re-victimization. The crime victim loses all sense of control and worth to officials of a seemingly uncaring criminal justice system, and certainly loses any sense of satisfaction with the justice system.

Resistance to fully accepting and implementing these relatively new rights is normally seen through several different behaviours. Each of these three commonly seen behaviours also has a different potential remedy (or set of remedies).

• Individual attitudes
  
• Political inertia
• Systemic resistance

We'll take a look at these one at a time.


Individual attitudes
When it comes to applying basic victim rights, such as the right to be informed of available social services, or the right to be kept informed of case development, much is left to up the individual police officer, detective, or prosecuting attorney. Their personal views on the importance of victim rights, and the impact workplace issues such as case load and funding, can greatly influence the manner in they comply with regional law or agency policy on the application of victim rights.

Let's face it, the criminal justice system is a high-pressure environment. A busy police officer may forget to inform crime victims of the availability of victim services. Harried detectives can overlook giving victims case updates. An underfunded prosecutor with a heavy case load may cut corners. These are situations which, while deplorable, are understandable. Yet, time and time again, victims of crime report that individuals within these agencies show not only occasional forgetfulness, but a shocking lack of understanding -- if not actual disregard -- for the rights granted victims by law and demanded by policy.

Victim Participation and Therapeutic Jurisprudence
"In a recent study on victims' experiences in the Quebec criminal courts, Wemmers and Cyr (2006) found that victims were not systematically informed about the services available to them. Most victims were not asked by police if they wanted information about victim support and most did not know where to go for help or information. This might not be an issue if the victims in this study were not affected by their victimization, but almost three-quarters of respondents were victims of violent crime and most victims said that they were affected by the crime. In all, 45% of the victims who participated in the study showed symptoms of PTSD."

In individuals, this disregard may be rooted in a lack of empathy (simply not understanding what victims are going through, and why these rights are important), a simple resistance to change ("we've never had to do this before"), or the individual may be suffering from professional burnout (they have seen so much pain they no longer wish to deal with it; this is a form of caregiver stress).

No victim should accept less than reasonable service and their full rights under the law. Don't be afraid to speak to a superior at the agency in question; they may be able to supply a reasonable answer as to why the incident in question occurred. Alternatively, they may not be aware of the behavior of the person in question. Often sensitivity training on victimization (its effects and why providing victim rights and services provide tangible results) can help overcome individual issues for staff finding it difficult to see why providing the services are important.

As mentioned, such behavior in a representative of the justice system can also be caused by burnout. If a staff person shows evidence of psychological stress or burnout, supervisors need to know; victims may not realize the seriousness of the traits being exhibited. The concern is for the mental health for the employee, as employees in this field can develop their own form of PTSD from their constant exposure to horrendous cases of victimization.

Never be afraid to speak up if you suffer poor treatment. You will be helping the agency in question learn to deliver better service to future victims, and you may well be helping agency staff.

However, where a number of individuals within an agency or service display the same traits, we are likely looking at an issue of systemic resistance, which we will cover shortly.


Political inertia
As I mentioned earlier, few politicians want to be seen as being hard on victims, or soft on crime. The granting of theoretical victim rights via legislation generates strong political capital for those involved, which is one reason it is so popular. The hard work comes in creating effective programs which ensure authentic and needed services to victims.

A major component in this is providing sufficient funding. This is where the next level of resistance comes into play.

In the world of government funding, with a finite amount of resources, there is always fierce competition for money, whether between government offices, the funded agencies, or simply different levels of government (local, regional, national)

It is not unusual to see politicians pass bills which, while sounding wonderful, do not provide access to the funds needed for the legislation to actual work.

Adding Insult to Injury: Investigation into the treatment of victims by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (Ontario, Canada)
"The primary reason for the Board’s colossal failure is that successive Ontario governments have been unprepared to fund the promises they have made to crime victims. The Province has proclaimed a grandiose program of support through the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act, but then imposed fiscal control so tightly that it has choked off not only the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board’s effectiveness, but its compassion as well. Today, the primary responsibility for this lies with the present government, and urgent action is needed."

Victims not informed they are eligible for compensation (UK)
"Two-thirds of UK crime victims are not informed that they are eligible for crime victim compensation. Even those who are informed often decide not to apply because the the bureaucratic application process…"

The remedy to this form of resistance can only be political action and lobbying by advocacy groups and the general public. Join a victim rights organization, take part in advocacy programs, write to your government representatives. If you see a problem in services, get active!


Systemic resistance
The final form of resistance to victim rights comes from groups or classes of people who, by training or by occupation, view the application of victim rights as threatening, or simply outside the scope of their work. Most often these are found in the court system.

By long tradition and training, members of the legal profession often view the criminal justice system as a dialog between two parties: the prosecution and the defense. The introduction of rights for a third party, in the form of the victim of crime with rights equal to the offender, is creating serious tension in today's court system.

Giving Crime Victims More of Their Say: A federal law has created tensions in the legal system (USA)
"But defense attorneys say that changing the adversarial system further would have dangerous consequences. Most problematic, they say, would be allowing victims more control over prosecutorial decisions. Victims can be biased, attorneys say, and they sometimes fail to understand how their case fits into the system as a whole.

...Defense attorneys are also wary of the influence that victims may have on plea agreements. And they point out that a victim's testimony, in bail or sentencing hearings, is not subject to the same cross-examination as is the testimony of other witnesses. Overall, they worry that inserting victims more broadly into the process pits the defendant against not one, but two, adversaries."

Judge: Defendant’s rights trump those of victims (USA)
"Attorney Herbert S. Moncier, who represents Sudderth’s mother in a wrongful death lawsuit against Whiteside, alleged Sudderth’s survivors’ rights were violated when prosecutors and Whiteside attorney Gregory P. Isaacs struck a deal that allowed Whiteside to be arraigned a day early and his bond cut without a hearing.

But (Judge) Leibowitz opined that while prosecutors are required under the victims’ rights law to notify victims of any changes in hearing dates, they are immune from penalty if they fail to do so. She also opined that a defendant’s rights trump victims’ rights."

If you have a few minutes, you can view an impassioned plea for the rights of crime victims in an uncaring justice system from Dr. Marlene Young and Dr. Irvin Waller, at a WSV press conference given at the 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 2005 (note RealPlayer plugin required).

Some in the legal community take the view that giving rights to victims equals taking away rights from the accused. Others are concerned that overly emotional victim involvement will unduly sway judicial sentencing.

High court cracks down on emotional testimony (USA)
"Three members of the U.S. Supreme Court today expressed concern about the growing use during death penalty trials of elaborate victim impact statements and video presentations."

There is no easy remedy to this form of resistance. Certainly the legal aspects of this debate can only be settled in the manner normal in the courts when dealing with new law; by case-by-case testing and review, until a body of formal and common precedent establishes the precise limits to which they courts will accept victim interaction.

Changing professional attitudes is another matter. Victim advocates and legal educators are coming to believe that attitudes and ways of thought in the justice system can be best influenced by working on the next generation of lawyers and jurists. How? By providing training to law students on victim rights, the effects of crime, and other sensitivity training.

In other words, working to change the criminal justice system from within, by working to change the attitudes of the next generation of jurists. This will take time, but is the most likely way to change the present two-party court model (accused and prosecution) to a three-party model (victim, accused and prosecution).

While highly unlikely to take place in the near future, it is to be hoped victim rights will eventually advance to match those of Japan (and a few other countries), where victims now have rights to directly take part in court proceedings, under specific conditions and limits.