Making Marsy's Law

Marsy’s Law for Pennsylvania has achieved a major milestone - passage of the state House of Representatives and state Senate - all in about five months. This checks off the first hurdle for a change to the constitution. In 2019, the process starts over again, with a view to putting the question to voters late next year.

Marsy’s Law not only passed the House and Senate - it did so unanimously in both chambers. You’d have to go back several decades to find another constitutional amendment that achieved the same feat in Pennsylvania.

Then we talk with Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis about the role of DAs accross the commonwealth in supporting Marsy's Law and victims' rights.

Show Notes:

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault or other crime please contact Pennsylvania's Office of Victim Advocate at 800-563-6399 or ova.pa.gov.

Special Guests: Jennifer Riley, PA Senator Guy Reschenthaler, State Representative Sheryl Delozier, and Stefanie Salavantis.

With the unanimous passage of Marsy’s Law in the state House, Pennsylvania crime victims are closer than they’ve ever been to a constitutional guarantee to uphold their rights in court. And the stakes couldn’t be higher for those thrust into the court system against their will through the wrongdoing of another.

We continue our series of interviews with the survivors of crimes in Pennsylvania. Angela Niblett has first-hand experience navigating the Pennsylvania court system after she was attacked in her home by an armed assailant, Pittsburgh's so-called North Hills rapist. Angela shares her story with Making Marsy’s Law in the hopes that raising her voice can help other victims. Unlike some cases we’ve seen, she describes her experience with the criminal justice system as “textbook” and credits the police detectives, victim advocates and a strong assistant district attorney with honoring her rights and her voice at every step in the process. But she knows that’s not the case for every survivor in Pennsylvania.

Notes:

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault or other crime please contact Pennsylvania's Office of Victim Advocate at 800-563-6399 or ova.pa.gov.

As the campaign to pass Marsy’s Law in the Pennsylvania legislature moves forward, we turn our focus to the House of Representatives. The bill is currently under review by the Judiciary Committee and supporters are working on a vote by the full House before lawmakers adjourn for the summer.

State Representative Sheryl Delozier, the prime sponsor, says her measure provides a needed, permanent fix to help crime victims.

A long-term advocate for crime victims, Delozier has helped rape and domestic violence survivors in a variety of capacities, including as an hotline volunteer and board member. And she is serving her 5th term as state representative from Cumberland County.

Special Guest: State Representative Sheryl Delozier.

Sometimes it's easy to lose sight that at the heart of the Marsys's Law for PA campaign are crime victims and their families, trying to make their way through a criminal justice system that cannot put them first - because those accused and convicted of crimes have stronger protections under the state constitution. And even though crime victims have solid rights under state law - to be notified if an assailant is released on bail, for instance, or to have the opportunity to speak about the crime’s impact on their lives before the court - they have no recourse if their rights are violated. Unfortunately this means sometimes victims get hurt by their contacts with the criminal justice system.

Today’s interview will be the first in a series of with the survivors of crimes in Pennsylvania. To shed a little light on what that experience can be like, we’re joined by Kate Rush. She is an advocate for crime victims in Pennsylvania, a speaker for the Resilient Voices Program under the state Office of Victim Advocate, and the chairperson for the York County Victims Rights Coalition, which sponsors an Annual Crime Victims' Rights March & Candlelight Vigil. And she has her own story to tell about how she ended up doing that.

Notes for this episode:

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault or other violent crime you can visit the website of Pennsylvania's Office of Victim Advocate for a list of resources available including links to local victim services providers.

York County Victims Rights Coalition

Resilient Voices Speakers Program

Special Guest: Kate Rush.

Marsy’s Law for Pennsylvania saw a series of important wins during National Crime Victims Rights week in early April -- with events highlighting the campaign across the state. Capping off those events, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf officially declared his support for Marsy’s Law. We sit down with the state Senate’s prime sponsor for Marsy’s Law - Senator Guy Reschenthaler, and then government relations specialists Dennis Walsh and Joe Miller to talk about what happens next.

Special Guests: Dennis Walsh, Joe Miller, and PA Senator Guy Reschenthaler.

The second week of April is National Crime Victims’ Rights Week - and to mark the event, supporters of Marsy’s Law for Pennsylvania took part in a rally at the Pennsylvania state Capitol. We speak with rally attendees, advocates, crime victims and their families. Then we have a conversation with the newly named campaign director for Marsy's Law for Pennsylvania, Jennifer Riley.

Special Guest: Jennifer Riley.

Two Pennsylvania lawmakers have recently introduced measures to give crime victims equal protection under the state constitution as those accused and convicted of committing crimes. It’s called Marsy’s Law - and it’s something that victim advocates, district attorneys, law enforcement and other stakeholders are rallying behind to help level the playing field for victims and their families in the Commonwealth.

Named for Marsalee Nicholas, a California woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1983, Marsy’s Law has become a national movement to ensure victims are treated with fairness and dignity in the criminal justice system.

We talk with Pennsylvania Victim Advocate Jennifer Storm to talk about the current situation for crime victims here in the state, and what a change to the state constitution could do for them.

Special Guest: Jennifer Storm.

Making Marsy's Law is a new podcast about the campaign to add victims' rights to Pennsylvania's constitution.