Misinformation muddies need for victims’ rights

By Josh Crawford, Executive Director

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed the first National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. In issuing his proclamation, President Reagan said, “[w]e need a renewed emphasis on, and an enhanced sensitivity to, the rights of victims. These rights should be a central concern of those who participate in the criminal justice system, and it is time all of us paid greater heed to the plight of victims.”

Thirty-nine years later, states and the federal government have made considerable strides in better respecting the rights of crime victims. The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 established the Crime Victim's Fund and 35 States have secured Constitutional rights for victims of crime. Kentucky is not one of those states, and unfortunately, there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation floating around about an attempt this year to secure those rights for Kentucky victims.

Opponents of securing constitutional rights for crime victims rest the majority of their arguments on two flawed premises...

Continue reading this piece in Kentucky Today