Rose Whitrock's daughter Gina was murdered during a home invasion on Oct. 5, 2009. Two men forced their way into Rose's house in St. Louis, fatally shooting her daughter and wounding her son.
Whitrock is now taking care of Gina's two sons and grappling with reality of her daughter's death.
"(Criminals) need to pay for their crimes, and we as the victims deserve that," Whitrock said during remarks at the ceremony for National Crime Victims' Rights Week from April 10-16 on Monday at the state Capitol Rotunda. "We deserve to find peace in all of this tragedy."
Monday's event was organized by the Crime Victims' Rights Week Ceremony Committee, which includes 16 government groups and the Department of Public Safety's Crime Victim Services unit.
Its purpose was to celebrate efforts of crime victims, survivors and advocates to protect and advance of the rights of crime victims, according to a Department of Public Safety's news release. The theme was "Serving Victims. Building Trust. Restoring Hope."
Sen. Gina Walsh, D-St. Louis, said the theme stresses the importance of assistance for victims.
"This year's theme ... underscores the importance of early intervention, victims' services and establishing trust with victims, which in turn leads to restoring the hope of healing and recovery," Walsh said.
Assistant Attorney General Susan Boresi recited the Missouri Attorney General's mission statement to fight for openness and justice, especially for those who have no voice.
"My attention is always on those closing words, "especially for those who have no voice.' Who are these people?" Boresi asked the crowd. "Jeremiah, 7 years old, who was strangled by his father who then set his mobile home on fire... . Skyler, 18 months old, who was beaten by his mother's boyfriend to the point where his brain swelled and excreted from his skull."
Boresi told more stories of cases prosecuted by the attorney general's office. She then added:
"Who is there for these children? Where is their voice? And I can tell you where their voice is," Boresi said, praising the law enforcement officers, medical professionals, prosecutors and victims themselves for standing up for victims' rights.
Kevin Hillman, president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, said the American criminal justice system is "slanted toward criminals."
"We focus on the crime. We focus on the punishment. We focus on the evidence," Hillman said. "Very often the afterthought is, "What does the victim think about this? Has anybody spoken with the victim about this case?' And that's unfortunate."
Making it right
Missouri created the Crime Victims' Compensation Program in 1981 to help victims of violent crime pay for medical care, counseling, funeral expenses, lost wages and loss of support, according to the Missouri Department of Public Safety. The program can also pay attorney fees and personal property such as bedding and clothing seized by law enforcement as evidence in the crime that compensation is being sought for.
Since 2009, the program has awarded over $40 million to more than 13,000 crime victims, according to the news release from the department.
In 1992, Missouri was one of five states to ratify a constitutional amendment for victims' rights, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime. Since then, agencies and organizations protecting victims' rights have proliferated.
This year, Walsh filed several bills to expand victim's rights. Senate Bill 907, would create the right of unpaid leave for victims of domestic violence. Missouri law defines domestic violence as assault, battery, coercion, harassment, sexual assault, unlawful imprisonment and stalking. The Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee held a hearing for the bill on March 1.
Her other two bills expand on the Secretary of State's confidentiality program to protect victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or stalking by assigning substitute addresses to victims.
Senate Bill 886 would make the act of accessing or attempting to access information from this program aggravated assault. This bill passed the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Feb. 25.
Senate Bill 888 would add survivors of human trafficking to those covered by the confidentiality program. This bill has passed the Senate Seniors, Families and Children Committee on Feb. 16 and has been read twice on the House floor.
No further action has been scheduled for the bills.
At the ceremony Monday, Walsh denounced legislative and citizen inaction on the issue.
"Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who were there, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to prevail," Walsh said.