Often, I am contacted by a crime victim or a surviving family member who will share their experiences with our state’s criminal courts. As their story unfolds, the frustration is palpable. The broken dreams and loss of innocence caused by the perpetrator is augmented by their devastation that justice is often elusive at best, and a fiction to many.
Their hopes that a conviction would lift them to a place where they might begin healing have been dashed. The common thread in their complaints revolves around the system’s failures: the lack of notice of court dates; the failure of the state to provide, where possible, witness protection services; the inability to speak directly with the prosecutor handling their case; the learning after the fact of a prosecutor’s plea offer.
