Marsy’s Law for Maine is thrilled to have received a key law enforcement endorsement last week. Sheriff Scott Nichols of Franklin County will serve as our effort’s County Chair, an important role going forward as we work to raise awareness in communities across our state of the need for equal, constitutional rights for crime victims in Maine. 

Law enforcement officers are most often the people who are first on the scene of a crime, and the first contact with victims. For many victims, especially victims of serious crimes, this is the most difficult time in their lives. It does not always get easier. Cases can take years to resolve, and legal challenges can arise time and again for decades in some cases.

Sheriff Nichols recognizes that crime victims, as the people most impacted by the crime, often feel like bystanders – even outsiders — in their own cases. This can lead to a sense of re-victimization and continued symptoms of trauma for many victims when they are treated peripherally.

Sheriff Nichols believes Marsy’s Law for Maine will give crime victims a much-needed sense of justice. He agrees that crime victims deserve to be heard, they deserve a voice in their case, and they deserve recognition at the highest levels of the criminal justice system. That is why Sheriff Nichols is backing the equal rights Marsy’s Law for Maine will afford crime victims in our state. We are deeply appreciative of his support.