ATLANTA – Each year, Marsy’s Law for Georgia commemorates National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with a campaign that highlights local victim-centric events, honors victim advocates and raises awareness of victims’ rights across the state.
This year’s NCVRW will take place April 23-29 under the theme “Survivor Voices: Elevate. Insert. Effect change.” To officially recognize the week, the City of Atlanta, Cobb County and Gov. Brian Kemp have issued proclamations declaring April 23-29 as Georgia Crime Victims Week.
Marsy Legal Advisory Council members Mel Hewitt, Tamiko Lowry-Pugh and Rita Davis-Canon received the proclamation from City Council President Doug Shipman during the April 17 legislature session.
Many Georgia landmarks will illuminate their facades with purple LED lights to highlight NCVRW. This year, Georgia organizations and landmarks like Mercer University, the King & Spalding Building, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the TK Elevator Building and the King and Queen Buildings in Atlanta pledged to show their support.
Marsy’s Law for Georgia not only supports victims’ rights during NCVRW, it works throughout the year to focus on encouraging the community to educate themselves about the many resources available. While the pandemic has been difficult for everyone over the past three years, victims of violent crime have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic-related backlog in court cases.
Victim advocates and services such as the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Crime Victims’ Advocacy Council, Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, Georgia Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office, and others provide resources and events to help victims on their journey to justice to help .
In 2018, Marsy’s law amended the Georgia state constitution to include a bill of rights for victims of violent crimes during criminal proceedings. The constitutional amendment gained wide support and gives victims rights, including the ability to go to court if they feel their rights have been violated. Georgia is one of numerous states across the country that have incorporated Marsy’s Law into their constitutions in recent years. To learn more about Marsys Law Georgia, visit marsyslawforga.com. Victims and supporters interested in sharing their stories can email georgia@marsyslaw.us.
Marsy’s Law is named after Marsalee “Marsy” Nicholas of California, who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. Just a week after her death, Marsy’s mother walked into a grocery store where she was confronted with the accused killer. The family, who had just returned from visiting Marsy’s grave, were unaware that the accused had been released on bail.
Since the passage of California’s Victim’s Bill of Rights Act of 2008, Marsy’s Law legislation has been overwhelmingly approved by voters in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and South Dakota assumed.
