Five Towns in Union County Vote to Support Victims’ Rights Legislation in North Carolina General Assembly 

| |

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2017 

Contact:  Anna Roberts, 919-208-4050

Chris Sinclair, 919-931-4652

 

Five Towns in Union County Vote to Support Victims’ Rights Legislation in North Carolina General Assembly 

Legislation seeks to strengthen victims’ rights in the state constitution

Union County, NC –  The Weddington Town Council and the Wesley Chapel Village Council both voted unanimously on January 8th in favor of a resolution to support legislation that will strengthen language in the state constitution giving crime victims an equal level of protections already given to the accused and convicted. Five towns in Union County including: Indian Trail, Monroe, Stallings, Wesley Chapel and Weddington, have now passed resolutions of support for Marsy’s Law for North Carolina. Union County Sheriff, Eddie Cathey, has endorsed Marsy’s Law as well.

“I was proud to be the first Mayor in North Carolina to pass a resolution of support for Marsy’s Law,” said Indian Trail Mayor, Michael Alvarez. “I’m glad to see other mayors joining me. Victims’ rights are long overdue in this state. We need to show victims that we stand behind them.”

The legislation is part of a two-step process to strengthen rights for North Carolina’s victims of crime – first by passing both chambers of the General Assembly by a ⅗ margin followed by a statewide vote.

It recently passed the state House with overwhelming bipartisan support and now is awaiting a vote in the Senate. Representatives Dean Arp, Mark Brody, and Craig Horn all voted in Yes. To-date, 15 towns in the state have formally endorsed and supported this victims’ rights legislation. Eight counties across North Carolina have also passed resolutions to support Marsy’s Law.

More than eight in ten North Carolinians from across the political spectrum support amending the constitution to give victims stronger rights according to a recent survey of North Carolina voters. Nearly nine out of ten voters believe that crime victims should be guaranteed notification of a criminal’s bail, parole, release or escape and that victims, if they choose, have the constitutional right to speak at the bail or sentencing hearing.

Marsy’s Law for NC kicked off a campaign in April during National Crime Victims’ Week to begin the constitutional amendment process. The victims’ rights legislation has North Carolina-specific language that will focus on felonies and violent misdemeanors.

It will guarantee that victims receive certain rights in a number of important ways including:

  • informing victims and their families about their rights and the services available to them,
  • giving them the right to receive notification of proceedings and major developments in a criminal case,
  • protecting their safety by notifying them in a timely manner regarding changes to the offender’s custodial status,
  • allowing victims and their families to exercise their right to be present – and heard – at court proceedings,
  • providing input to the prosecutor before a plea agreement is finalized; and
  • establishing the right to restitution from the convicted.

For a list of Marsy’s Law NC current endorsements: http://nc.marsyslaw.us/endorsements

Watch the Marsy’s Law NC launch video:  https://youtu.be/7ecYBV2MIWk

About Marsy’s Law NC

Marsy’s Law for North Carolina seeks to amend the state constitution to provide an equal level of constitutional protection to victims of crime that is already afforded to the accused and convicted. Marsy’s Law is supported across the political spectrum to ensure that victims have the same “co-equal” rights as the accused and convicted – nothing more; nothing less.

While there are some victims’ rights protections currently in North Carolina’s constitution, they are not applied the same way from county to county and there is not currently broad, statewide, enforceable language equally outlined across the state. The Marsy’s Law for NC campaign aims to give victims of crime a voice they do not have by law in the criminal justice process, and the safety and peace-of-mind to know their assailant has not been released without their knowledge.

About Marsy’s Law

Marsy’s Law is named after Marsalee “Marsy” Nicholas of California who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. Only one week after her death, Marsy’s mother and brother, Henry T. Nicholas, walked into a grocery store where they were confronted by the accused murderer. The family, who had just come from a visit to Marsy’s grave, was unaware that the accused had been released on bail. In an effort to honor his sister, Dr. Nicholas, co-founder of Broadcom Corporation, has made it his mission to give victims and their families constitutional protections and equal rights. He formed Marsy’s Law for All in 2009, providing expertise and resources to victims’ rights organizations nationwide.

Since California’s passage of the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008, Marsy’s Law legislation has also succeeded in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Illinois, and Ohio.

For more information on the Marsy’s Law initiative, please visit https://marsyslaw.us/, and follow on Facebook and Twitter.

 

###