TO THE EDITOR:

April 13-19, 2008 was National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and the theme was Justice for Victims. Justice for All.  The Chisago County Victim Assistance Program serves all victims of crime from misdemeanor to felony level offenses in both juvenile and adult court.  Last year our program served over 900 victims of crime.

As a victim of crime you have the following rights:

To be notified of your rights as a victim

To be notified of court hearing dates and plea negotiations

To give a Victim Impact Statement and request restitution for monetary losses

To request a speedy trial, demand and to provide written objections at sentencing

Although victims’ rights have come a long way over the years, we still have a long way to go in protecting our victims and giving them as many rights’ as defendants are afforded. It is very difficult to understand and accept what justice means in our court system and the average citizen has no idea of the types of sentences that defendants are given, until they or a loved one become a victim of crime. I challenge everyone to take a morning or afternoon to sit in our courtroom and observe our justice system in action; you will most likely agree that a lot more work needs to be done to protect victims of crime.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.  We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

Wendy S. Stenberg
Chisago County Victim Witness Coordinator

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