Saturday, April 24, 1999
Crime victims find a friend
Advocates help negotiate legal system
BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The day after she learned 20-year-old Michael S. Young Jr. had been shot to death, Vickie Cole called his family to offer assistance.
During the next eight months, Mrs. Cole, a victim's advocate in the Butler County prosecutor's office, became an invaluable guide and an emotional anchor for the Young family.
She comforted them, notified them of upcoming court dates, explained legal procedures and sat with them through the court hearings and the trial. After Michael's convicted killer was sentenced to life in prison, she escorted the family past one of the defendant's relatives, who cursed them in a low voice.
In recent years, prosecutors' victim assistance programs have escalated in scope and size in Greater Cincinnati and throughout the nation.
As National Crime Victims' Rights Week begins Sunday, prosecutors' offices in Hamilton, Butler, Clermont, Warren, Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties are serving more crime victims than ever.
In the most recent fiscal year, those seven counties assisted victims in more than 6,000 cases. Fifteen years ago, none of them had advocates.
Before these programs, prosecutors tried to help the victims, but had limited time.
“We pulled our hair out,” said Linda Tally Smith, assistant commonwealth attorney in Boone County. “It's impossible to tend to the needs of the victims while you're preparing for trials, meeting with police officers and presenting a case in court.”
The murder victim's father, Michael S. Young Sr., said that without Mrs. Cole's calming influence, he may have exploded in anger when he was cursed in court and at other times during the complex, stressful legal process.
“There might have been bedlam in the courtroom,” said Mr. Young, a Forest Park resident and an AK Steel employee who serves as a minister of the Good News Church of God in Christ in North College Hill.
“There were times when you really wanted to lose your grip,” he said. “But Vickie was very consoling to us, and that helped erase the anger I felt toward the other family.”
The growth of these programs reflects the increasing national concern about the needs of victims.
“In the mid-'70s, the focus was almost completely on the rights of the offender,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen said. “Now that focus has shifted toward helping the victims. That's as it ought to be.”
Through the federal Victims of Crimes Act, Ohio received $10.8 million in the 1998-99 fiscal year for programs assisting crime victims, while Kentucky received $3.5 million. Ohio's victims compensation program allocated $1.7 million in the last fiscal year, while Kentucky's program distributed $213,000.
Victim advocates provide a wide range of services, from preparing them for the legal proceedings and escorting them to court, to helping them fill out Ohio's compensation claim forms and referring them for other services.
Ohio law requires prosecutors' offices to notify felony victims of all court dates. The advocates also help people fill out victim impact statements, which judges consider in determining how to sentence offenders.
Sometimes, the advocates simply offer sympathy.
Butler County victim advocate Estella Jackson helped 21-year-old Dawn Renee Bell testify against her father during two trials. Ms. Bell accused Rev. Darrell Bell, of Middletown, of molesting her from ages 10 to 18. Some family members sided with the Rev. Mr. Bell and ostracized her.
The Rev. Mr. Bell was convicted of 11 sex charges in the second trial in March.
“When I was testifying in the courtroom,” Ms. Bell said, “I had to look at someone who was supportive, so I would look at Estella. I knew she would be there for me.”
Patricia Gilliam of Corryville learned the value of the victim advocate program after her 16-year-old nephew, Antwuan Gilliam, was killed execution-style on Easter morning 1997 after begging for his life. One attacker was sentenced to death; the other was given 70 years in prison.
She said Hamilton County victim advocate Katie Bolan and others helped the family enormously.
“They kept us informed every step of the way,” Ms. Gilliam said. “Without them, I don't know how I would have gotten through it.”
Advocates are especially important in cases involving child victims.
They help the children feel comfortable divulging information and make it easier for them to testify, said Clermont County Prosecutor Don White.
Last month in Clermont County, a mother of four was convicted of raping and assaulting her children, ages 7 to 16. The prosecution said the woman prostituted her daughters for beer and rent money.
Victim advocate Amy Sekula went to great lengths to earn the children's trust. She spent time outside working hours with the 13-year-old daughter, the main prosecution witness. Ms. Sekula took the girl to the Cincinnati Zoo and other places where they could have fun.
“We didn't even talk about the case during those times,” Ms. Sekula said. “I just wanted her to have a high comfort level with someone in the court system who wasn't always there to discuss the case.”
Many criminal defense attorneys believe that the national mood has swung too far in favor of victims' rights.
Hamilton attorney Clayton Napier said he has no quarrel with offering support services to victims. But he said the victim impact statements have become too influential. In these statements, victims tell the judges in detail how the crime affected them and what penalty they would like to be handed down.
Some victims exaggerate the crime's effect on them and misrepresent facts, Mr. Napier said.
“A lot of the information in these statements aren't true, and it's difficult to refute them,” he said. “As a defense attorney, it puts you in an awkward position if you question what they say. What are you going say? — "My client's guilty, but not that guilty.'”
Contact doesn't end with the conclusion of the trial. Advocates keep the victims abreast of hearings that could result in the offenders being released from prison.
Mr. Young and his ex-wife, Tanya, Michael's mother, said they think of Mrs. Cole as a member of their family.
“She let us know that she felt the loss that we felt,” Mr. Young said. “She helped us get over the tragic loss of our son. I thank God for that program.”
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