News and Developments 2005: Victims

NEW VOICES: Victims' Rights Advocate Calls for an End to the Death Penalty

Posted: December 30, 2005
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Richard Pompelio (pictured) established the New Jersey Crime Victims Law Center (VLC) in 1992 after his 17-year-old son Tony was murdered. VLC provides pro bono legal assistance to victims of violent crime.  He recently wrote in the New Jersey Lawyer's The Law & More column about the disservice that the death penalty represents to victims and their families:

NEW VOICES: New Jersey Prosecutor Calls for End to the Death Penalty

Posted: December 09, 2005
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In a letter to acting New Jersey Govenor Richard J. Codey, Ocean County prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher called for an end to the death penalty in New Jersey because he feels the system is ineffective and fails to meet the needs of victims' families. Kelaher, who has been a prosecutor for 23 years, said that life without parole would be a more appropriate sentencing option for those convicted of first-degree murder. "The history of nonapplication of the law has been a cruel hoax on families of the victims and the citizens of this state. . . .

Victim's Family Expresses Relief At No Death Penalty

Posted: September 06, 2005
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Edna Weaver, whose daughter was murdered in New Jersey, expressed relief that the defendant was spared the death penalty.  She said that she did not want William Severs Jr. executed for killing Tina Lambriola in 2002 because she wanted to spare his mother the pain of losing a child. "I'm so thankful it came out the way it did. . . . I wouldn't want another mother to feel like I do -- it's a feeling I could never put into words. . . . At least his mother will be able to write to him, she will be able to send things to him," Weaver stated.

NEW VOICES: Victim's Family Opposes Federal Death Sentence

Posted: July 27, 2005
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The parents and three children of Louisiana murder victim Kim Groves have asked the federal government to forgo seeking the death penalty for co-defendants Paul Hardy and Len Davis.  In a letter to prosecutors, the Groves family urged U.S attorneys to halt proceedings that  might lead to death sentences in rehearings for both defendants.

"Executing these two men will not bring Kim Groves back to life. It will not ease the deep sorrow and loss that her family has and will continue to experience as a result of her death...Perversely, it appears that he (Davis) has enjoyed the attention and notoriety which his vulnerability to the death penalty has provided. The family believes the death penalty would in fact be the lesser of the punishments and that the finality and duration of a life sentence would be much more difficult and severe to Mr. Davis, in particular, than death," the letter stated.

The letter, which was also addressed to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, was entered into the court record last week.   The presiding judge ruled that if prosecutors have family members testifying about the facts of the crime, the letter may be used on Davis' behalf. 

BOOKS : "Hidden Victims: The Effects of the Death Penalty on Families of the Accused"

Posted: June 08, 2005
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"Hidden Victims," a new book by sociologist Susan F. Sharp of the University of Oklahoma, examines the impact of capital punishment on the families of those facing execution. Through a series of in-depth interviews with families of the accused, Sharp illustrates from a sociological standpoint how family members and friends of those on death row are, in effect, indirect victims of the initial crime. The book emphasizes their responses to sentencing, as well as how they grieve and face an impending execution.

BOOKS: Victims and Victims' Families

Posted: June 04, 2005
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The Ride: A Shocking Murder and a Bereaved Father’s Journey from Rage to Redemption is a new book by Brian MacQuarrie that explores a parent's grief and subsequent transformation through the story of Robert Curley in Massachusetts.  Curley's 10-year-old son, Jeffrey, was a victim of abduction and murder in 1997.  The murder shocked and outraged the community of East Cambridge outside of Boston.  MacQuarrie explores the father's evolution “from grief to anger to activism against predators,” and from being an outraged father demanding the death penalty for his son’s murderer to an outspoken critic of capital punishment.  Delving deeper into the issue, the author looks at the struggle of Massachusetts residents as they decide whether to reinstate capital punishment.  Senator John Kerry calls the book, a “compelling and deeply moving…story of Bob Curley’s journey to hell and back.”  Sister Helen Prejean said "Robert Curley's radical transformation is a lesson for us all." The book may be purchased here and at major bookstores. MacQuarrie has been a reporter at the Boston Globe for 20 years.  (B. MacQuarrie, “The Ride: A Shocking Murder and a Bereaved Father’s Journey from Rage to Redemption,” Da Capo Press, 2009).

 

Death Row Inmates Present Scholarship to Future Police Officer

Posted: June 02, 2005
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Death row inmates from around the country will present a $5,000 college scholarship to Zach Osborne, the brother of a 4-year-old murder victim, who plans to attend East Carolina University to pursue a career in law enforcement. The scholarship is an annual award given by those on death row who participate in the publication of "Compassion," a newsletter that provides a forum for communication between convicted offenders and murder victims' families. Each year, a murder victim's family member is chosen to receive the funds based on the results of an essay competition. In his essay, Osborne wrote, "Natalie's death has haunted my family since the day she was found. . . . Through realizing this dream (of becoming a law enforcement officer), I would play a key role in preventing situations like this from ever happening again." Dennis Skillicorn, who is on Missouri's death row and serves as current editor of "Compassion," stated that the scholarship "gives every one of us - regardless of our living conditions - an opportunity to restore some of what we've torn down." Osborne will receive his scholarship during a 10 a.m. press conference hosted by the Greensboro Police Department on June 7.

NEW MULTIMEDIA RESOURCE: “The Empty Chair: Death Penalty Yes or No”

Posted: May 26, 2005
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The Empty Chair: Death Penalty Yes or No is a documentary film produced and directed by Jacqui Lofaro and Victor Teich that tells the stories of four families confronting the loss of loved ones and voicing different perspectives on the death penalty. The movie also features Sister Helen Prejean, an author and spiritual advisor to those condemned to die, and Donald Cabana (pictured), a former death row warden in Mississippi.