Earlier this month, the North Carolina House overwhelmingly passed House Bill 551, An Act to Amend the Law and Constitution of North Carolina to Provide Better Protections and Safeguards to Victims. The bill now awaits consideration by the Senate, where it has been referred to the Committee on Rules and Operations. The legislation is championed by the advocacy group, Marsy’s Law for All, which is seeking to amend state constitutions and, ultimately, the U.S. Constitution to enshrine victims’ rights. What is the impetus for Marsy’s Law and how would enactment of the constitutional amendment proposed in House Bill 551 change North Carolina’s existing constitutional and statutory protections for victims? Marsy’s Law is the colloquial name for the Victim’s Bill of Rights that was added to the California state constitution in 2008 and for similar amendments proposed and enacted to other state constitutions. The California amendment was backed by Henry Nicholas, the co-founder of Broadcom Corp., whose sister, Marsy Nicholas, was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983. Nicholas and his mother reportedly encountered the ex-boyfriend in the grocery store a week after the murder. To their surprise, he had been released on bail. In 2009, Henry Nicholas founded Marsy's Law for All. Don’t we already have constitutional protections for victims? Marsy’s Law for All seeks to amend state constitutions that don’t offer protections to crime victims. Yet, North Carolina’s constitution already recognizes victims’ rights. In 1995, voters approved the addition of “Section 37. Rights of victims of crime” to Article I of [...]
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