Up in Arms Over Crime

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The laudable desire of the courts to protect the rights of suspected criminals has long been a sore point with victims of crime, who complain that no such solicitude has been extended to them. Today organizations supporting victims' rights are sprouting up across the country. More than 400 victims advocacy groups have been set up to advise those who have been hurt by crime and to seek legislation to help them. In most states victims, like other witnesses, are frequently barred from the courtroom to prevent their testimony from being influenced by the proceedings. This "witness sequestration" rule, says Florida State Representative Dexter Lehtinen, means that "the defendant's family can be present to win the sympathy of the jury, but not the victim." Lehtinen is leading a petition drive to eliminate this stipulation from the Florida constitution. A new group, Georgians for Victims' Justice, has helped pass state legislation that will permit victims to give written statements to a judge about the impact of a crime on their lives. Another major thrust of these groups is to let victims appear at parole hearings or, at least, require that they be notified before an offender is set free.

Some victims groups have carried their activity into courtrooms, trying to apply silent pressure on judges and juries by their stony presence. One such organization is led by a Houston socialite, Phyllis Morrow, 42, wife of a wealthy oilman. Her interest began in 1980 after she and her husband were robbed of $500,000 worth of jewelry. Her group also rates judges, advises victims on dealing with police and courts, and lobbies for laws to aid victims. Since the Goetz case, Morrow claims, "every legislator seems to want on the bandwagon to support a victims bill of rights."

While eager to see justice done, victims often find the glacial movement of the courts a painful and costly ordeal. Rosemary Boeck, of Wisconsin Dells, Wis., and her family spent at least 22 months testifying intermittently at three separate trials in Wisconsin and Illinois after her son's murder. She helped organize a Parents of Murdered Children group, which offers counseling. Says she: "I thought I was ready to be committed, but I found out that my feelings were normal."

Cash compensation for the expenses incurred by innocent victims of crimes, however, remains the major accomplishment of these groups. New York and California are in the forefront of this movement. New York, for example, annually handles some 12,000 cash claims from victims, granting an average of $1,500 per applicant. Up to $20,000 can be given a victim for lost income from work, and the full cost of medical treatment beyond what is covered by health insurance is compensated. Families can recover the cost of burials for murder victims. Says Ronald Zweibel, chairman of the New York State crime victims board: "This program helps reduce crime. Ninety percent of criminal cases are solved through information provided by citizens. If victims feel they are nothing more than a piece of evidence, we can't expect cooperation."