Educators for Victim Justice

Teaching young minds about the greatness of America has never been difficult. Our country’s history is replete with examples of selfless sacrifice, heroic striving, and fights for justice against all odds. The story of the growth of the rights of criminal defendants is such a story. It is part of the fabric of our greatness. But that story is also seriously out of balance. In that story is woven the failure of our justice system to protect rights for the victims of crime. And this part of the story is very hard to teach to our children.

Many of these school children simply do not believe that they live in a country that says to the defendant, “You have the right to be informed of the proceedings in your case, you have the right to be present, you have the right to be heard, you have the right to a speedy trial and a lawyer, and many more rights,” but says to the crime victim, “You have none of these.”

We are Educators for Victim Justice who have organized to help end this injustice in our country by supporting the Kyl-Feinstein Crime Victims Rights Amendment. For too long the story of our country has neglected the rights of crime victims. The proposed amendment will restore fairness and balance to our courts and will become a hallmark of American justice that we can proudly teach.