Table Of Content* UMASS/AMHERST *
Massachusetts Annual
Victim Rights Conference
April 28, 1999
AM PM
8:00 - 4:00
State House, Boston
^
NOV 1 7 00
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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