Crime victims in Ohio may not be aware of the more than 650 rights they have under federal and state law.
A new, online tool kit is aimed at helping victims to navigate these protections that follow them from the hospital room to the courtroom and beyond.
“We’re hoping the tool kit will provide them with the information they need,” Cathy Harper Lee, who heads up the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center that is launching the tool kit, said Tuesday during a Victims’ Rights Week luncheon in Akron.
Lee said the tool kit is the first of its kind in the world.
This prompted hearty applause from the 100 police officers, judges, prosecutors and victim advocates who attended the luncheon at the Greek Community Center. The event marked National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
The center, a nonprofit organization based in Columbus formerly known as the Justice League, provides legal help to victims during criminal proceedings. Locally, the center is representing Ronda Blankenship, the surviving victim in a triple-homicide in Barberton on New Year’s Eve 2013.
During Lee’s brief presentation, she said the tool kit will debut Monday on the center’s website, https://ocvjc.org/. She said the tool kit has been a two-year endeavor that included translating complex legal terms into simpler language and consulting with groups across the state, including the Summit County Prosecutors Office.
With the tool kit, a person will be able to enter some basic information, such as a victim’s age and the crimes involved, and a list of the rights they are entitled to will be generated.
Leanne Graham, the executive director of Victim Assistance, which sponsored the luncheon, thinks the tool kit will be helpful to victim advocates, law enforcement and health-care professionals.
“We’ll use it on a daily basis,” she said.
Also during the luncheon, Summit County Domestic Relations Court Judge Carol Dezso received the Rev. Dr. Robert Denton Outstanding Victim Service Award, given to someone who has assisted victims. Dezso, a judge for more than 30 years, is retiring this year.
Denton, a former executive director of Victim Assistance who is now a police chaplain, presented Dezso with the award, saying that she “grew the court” during her long tenure.
“What she has done will be lasting for decades to come,” Denton said.
After the event, Lee said her organization will continue to assist Blankenship, even after Eric Hendon was convicted last week of murdering Blankenship’s boyfriend and two teenagers and shooting Blankenship in the head. A Summit County jury will decide next week if Hendon should be put to death. The center has litigation pending in the Ninth District Court of Appeals that challenges how Blankenship was required to provide personal information in the Hendon case, including medical records and social-media passwords.
“We feel that this is a critical matter in protecting a crime victim’s constitutional right to privacy,” Lee said.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @swarsmithabj and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/swarsmith.
