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* UMASS/AMHERST * Massachusetts Annual Victim Rights Conference April 28, 1999 AM PM 8:00 - 4:00 State House, Boston ^ NOV 1 7 00 - Massachusetts Uni•versciwtvy ooit «» National Crime Victims' Rights Week April 25-May 1, 1999 SPONSORS: Massachusetts Victim and Witness Assistance Board Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance Attorney General Tom Reilly MOVA/VWAB 1 Ashburton Place, Room 1101 Boston, Massachusetts 02108 Phone (617) 727-5200 Fax (617) 727-6552 E-Mail: [email protected] Massachusetts Annual Victim Rights Conference 1999 0 National Crime Victims' Week Rights April 25-May 1, 1999 Massachusetts Victim and Witness Assistance Board Attorney General Tom Reilly, Chairman Gerard Downing, District Attorney for Berkshire County Marv Ellen Doyle, Victim/Public Member Elizabeth Scheibel, District Attorney for Northwestern District Vacany, Victim/Public Member Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance Shelagh Lafferty, Executive Director Paula Almeida, Office Manager Maureen Finaldi, Victim Advocate/Training Specialist VOCA Robert Fleck, Grant Administrator Deborah Fogarty, Family Violence Project Manager VOCA Nicole Gill, Grant Specialist Alyssa Kazin, Victim Services Program Specialist chael Lartigue, Family Violence Project Training and Contract Administrator Barbara Pryor, Community Education Coordinator Mark Spezzafero, Director ofFinance and Administration Tracy Wadsworth, Policy Analyst 1 Massachusetts Annual Victim Rights Conference 1999 SPONSORS Office of Governor Paul Cellucci Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc. Criminal History Systems Board Daniel A. Larson Foundation & Essex County Sheriffs Department House of Correction Homicide Bereavement Alliance Jane Doe, Inc. Joey Fournier Services Louis D. Brown Peace Institute Massachusetts District Attorney's Association Massachusetts Department of Corrections Massachusetts Parole Board Massachusetts Sheriff's Association Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Norfolk County Sheriffs Office Parents of Murdered Children Post-Homicide Family Support Program Respond, Inc. The R.O.S.E. Fund The Trauma Center-Arbour Health System Foundation Victim/Witness Program Directors 2 Resource Book: Contents Introduction: Conference Program Workshop Descriptions Victim Rights Week Proclamation Keynote Speaker Biography Victim Witness Advocate 10, 15 and 20 Year Recognitions Victim Rights Week Calendar of Events Section A: Exploring Forgivenesses It Necessary for Healing? Section B: Victim Activism: Transforming Ideas Into Reality Section C: Enhancing Prosecution with New DNA Technologies Section D: Truth in Sentencing: Where Does It Stand? Section E: Crime Victims and the Guardian ad Litem System Section F: Substance Abuse Among Victims: Before and After Crime Appendices: Massachusetts Victim Bill of Rights Legislator and Committee Lists Victim Assistance Resources' Victim-Related Internet Sites Crime and Victimization in America Map of State House, 2nd Floor Map of Workshop Locations 3 Massachusetts Annual Victim Rights Conference State House, Boston Wednesday, April 28, 1999 Conference Program Registration, Exhibits, and Breakfast: Nurses Hall, 2nd Floor. Plenary Session: Gardner Auditorium, State House Opening: Sergeant Daniel M. Clark, Vocalist Raymond Cavicchio, Accompanist Welcome: Shelagh Lafferty, Executive Director Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance Address: Attorney General Tom Reilly, Chairman Victim and Witness Assistance Board Remarks: Governor A. Paul Cellucci Donald K. Stern, United States Attorney Awards Presentation: 1. Innovations: Victim Compensation Division 2. Legislator: Rep. Paul Casey 3. Media: Eileen McNa~tara 4. Victim WitnessAdvocate: Susan Zoia 5. SpecialRecognition: Yoko Kato Keynote Address: Christopher Darden Concurrent Workshops: Various Locations 1. Exploring Forgiveness: Is it Necessary for Healing? Panelists: Kathleen Alexander, Director of Community Education and Training, Northwestern District Attorney's Office Virginia and George Lester, surviving parents of Albert Lester Location: Gardner Auditorium, State House 2. Victim Activism: Transforming Ideas into Reality Panelists: Clementina M. Chery, Homicide Survivor, Founder Louis D. Brown Social Development Corporation Senator Brian P. Lees (R - 1st' Hampden and Hampshire), Senate Minority Leader RepresentativeJohn Rogers (D - 12th Norfolk), Chair, Committee on Taxation Marianne Winters, Interim Executive Director, Jane Doe, Inc. Janet Yassen, Crisis Services Coordinator, Cambridge Hospital Location: Walsh Theater, Suffolk University, 55 Temple Street 3. Enhancing Prosecution with New DNA Technologies Panelists: Barry Brown, Ph.D, Forensic Science Systems Unit, FBI David Capeless, First Assistant District Attorney, Berkshire County Rosemary Gale, Assistant Attorney General, Attorney General's Office Donald HayesJr., Director, Boston Police Crime Laboratory Sgt. Richard Nagle, Massachusetts State Police, Cold Case Unit Location: 1 Ashburton Place, (McCormack Building) 21st Floor 4. Truth in Sentencing: Where Does It Stand Panelists: ChiefJustice Mulligan, Chair, Massachusetts Sentencing Commission Sheila Hubbard, Chair, Massachusetts Parole Board Nancy Larson, President, Daniel A. Larson Foundation David Slade, Esq., Massachusetts Department of Correction Representative Stephen Tobin (D - 2nd Norfolk), Chair, Committee on Criminal Justice Location: Park Street Church, 1 Park Street 5 5. Crime Victims and the Guardian ad Litem System Panelists: Christine Butler, Esq., Butler & Monks, The Women's Law Collective Betsy Clague, Esq., Tufankjian & McDonald Susan Clare, Survivor Honorable Christina Harms, Norfolk Probate and Family Court Robin L. Stolk, Esq., Children & Family Law Program, Committee For Public Counsel Services & Patricia Tellis-Warren, Esq., Cambridge Somerville Legal Services Location: Church ofthe NewJerusalem, 140 Bowdoin Street 6. Substance Abuse Among Victims: Before and After the Crime Panelists: Diane St. George, Stair Victim S( ices Coordinator, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mary Kowalczuk, MSW. Boston Consortium for Families in Recovery Tommie Ann Bower, M-- Emerson House/Gosnold Marci Diamond, Massachusetts Department ofPubuc Health Marcia Gordon, Elizabeth Stone House Location: Paulist Center, 5 Park Street 1:00-2:30 Lunch (on your own) 2:30-4:00 Afternoon Session: Gardner Auditorium, State House 1. The "State of the State" of Crime Victims in Massachusetts Panelists: Gerard Downing, District Attorney for Berkshire County Mary Ellen Doyle, Victim/Public Member Elizabeth Scheibel, District Attorney for Northwestern District Shelagh Lafferty, Executive Director, Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance Location: Gardner Auditorium, State House 6 Victim Rights Conference 1999 Workshop Descriptions Morning Workshops; Exploring Forgiveness: Is It Necessary for Healing? The question of forgiveness in the wake ofvictimization is a deeply personal, highly complex matter that many crime victims wrestle with during their recovery process. What does forgiveness mean in the context ofvictimization? Is it necessary for healing, or are some crimes too horrendous to forgive? Is the idea of forgiveness too closely linked to forgetting? For forgiveness to happen, must the offender be remorseful oris it something victims choose forthemselves? Bringing together crime victims and victim service professionals, this workshop will explore these and other difficult questions about the meaning offorgiveness in victims' lives. Victim Activism: Transforming Ideas into Reality In the aftermath of crime, many victims seek to channel the pain oftheir personal experience into positive social action by pushing for new laws to improve the criminal justice system, organizing violence prevention efforts, or promoting a greater awareness about the emotional toll crime often imposes. How does one become involved in the victim rights movement? What does it take to How transform ideas for change into reality? does one build support for those ideas in the political process? What are some things to watch out for in becoming a victim activist? This workshop will feature victim activists and state legislators to explore these and other questions about developing effective ways to accomplish change forvictims. Truth in Sentencing: Where Do We Stand? When the legislature enacted the Truth in Sentencing Law in 1994, it was seen as a victory for crime victims. Five years later, as the legislature begins reviewing the Sentencing Commission's proposed sentencing guidelines, another opportunity exists to address crime victims' concerns about sentencing. What did the Truth in Sentencing law change, and what remained the same? How effective has the law been in ensuring that convicted offenders serve the;r full sentence? Is victim input being reflected in the sentencing outcomes? How are "good time" credits awarded and release dates calculated for offenders? Are victims' concerns about the length oftime offendersserve being effectively addressed by the criminal justice system? In this workshop, a panel of criminal justice and victim policymakers will discuss these important questions and review the proposed Sentencing Guidelines. Enhancing Prosecution with New DNA Technologies DNA Increasingly, the outcomes ofcriminal cases are being determined by the use of new technologies. With the advent ofthese new forensic techniques, perpetrators of sexual assault, homicide and other crimes can be identified with much greater precision and certainty. For crime DNA victims and law enforcement officials, the benefits ofusing testing are clear, but is there a downside? Is DNA testing foolproof? What is the legal status of DNA testing in Massachusetts? This workshop features a panel ofcriminal justice and forensic experts to discuss current legal and scientific DNA developments in the use of testing. 7 Crime Victims and the Guardian ad Litem System Guardians ad Litem are often appointed in domestic violence and child abuse cases to help the court determine the best interests ofthe child, but little attention has been paid by the victims' movement to How their important role and the effect they have on crime victims. are Guardians assigned to these cases? What are the guidelines for conducting GAL investigations and making recommendations to the court? Are Guardians sufficiently trained to understand how trauma or different ethnic backgrounds may effect how their clients present? Who should be required to pay the costs of Guardian ad Litem fees? In this workshop, a panel oflegal experts will explore these and other questions relevant to crime victims involved in the Guardian ad Litem system. Substance Abuse Among Crime Victims: Before and After the Crime Alcohol and drug abuse have long been recognized as contributing factors in the commission of violent crime. Although some victims have histories ofsubstance abuse, research has increasingly shown that trauma is a risk factor for alcohol and drug abuse. How widespread is substance abuse among crime victims - both before and after victimization? What are the challenges ofworking with victims who have substance abuse issues? Are there strategies that victim service professionals can use with victims who blame themselves for being "underthe influence" when a crime was committed? What do we know about the increased recreational use of so-called "date rape" drugs like rohypnol on college campuses? This workshop convenes victim advocates and mental health professionals to discuss the latest research and intervention models designed to help victims with substance abuse issues. Afternoon Workshop: The State of the State of Crime Victims in Massachusetts The Victim Bill of Rights and the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance were established by law 15 years ago. Since that time, dozens of other victim-related legal reforms, programs and services have been established to meet a range ofvictim needs, but much work still remains. How successful has Massachusetts been in meeting the needs and demands ofcrime victims? Where should our efforts be directed as we move into the next millenium? This workshop will feature members ofthe Victim and Witness Assistance Board and other criminal justice and victim policymakers in an interactive discussion about the future ofthe victim rights and services in Massachusetts. 8