OHIO — Advocates throughout northeast Ohio are fighting to protect the rights of crime victims.
Rallies, including one Thursday night in Geauga County, are being organized to mark National Crime Victims Rights Week.
When thinking about a courtroom, many people may picture a judge, lawyers and a defendant.
But the people sometimes absent from the scene are the ones hurt by the alleged crimes, people like Mary Seawright.
“I trusted someone,” she said. “He stole things out of my office.”
A friend of Seawright’s turned out to be a thief who pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County court.
When it came time for the judge to hand down the sentence, the judge sentenced the defendant to jail time, giving Seawright the justice she was seeking. But justice wasn’t entirely what she wanted.
“I said: ‘Is this it?’” she said.
She was looking for restitution, which was something she didn’t originally know she had the right to fight for.
Now, with help from the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center, she’s exercising that right, hoping to get compensated for what she had stolen.
“It’s not just getting a conviction, it’s to take care not these victims,” said Tracy Jordan, a victim advocate for the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department.
Jordan is among the many advocates in Ohio who are working to ensure people like Seawright are treated fairly and are aware of their rights like the right to protection, right to privacy and right to be informed about their cases.
“It really hurts when they ask me: ‘Why does the defendant be able to have all these rights and say so in their case?’” Jordan said. “‘Isn’t this my case?’”
Meanwhile, law enforcement throughout Ohio is working to inform crime victims of those rights and resources available to them.
Deputy Robin Taylor with the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department frequently deals with victims of violent crimes and said she strives to offer them any support they might need, including directing a victim to an advocate, like Jordan, who can further offer help.
“It’s not just taking a report from somebody,” Taylor said. “That is a human being that has now been traumatized.”
