Families of crime victims
They say proposal state considers doesn’t go far enough
gathered Thursday in front of the Orlando Police Department, saying a state proposal known as “Marsy’s Law” — a “bill of rights” — doesn’t go far enough.
It’s been four years since Ruby Vaughn’s son was kidnapped from a barbershop on Orange Blossom Trail and his body was left in Daytona Beach, but she said the family still doesn’t know what led to his death.
“I never even got a chance to see my son’s body. I buried something that I don’t even know if it was him,” said Vaughn, mother of Jim Johnson Jr., who was 39 at the time of his sudden disappearance Dec. 6, 2013.
She said there were three agencies — the Orlando Police Department, Daytona Beach Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Office — who are involved in the death investigation, but the family hasn’t received definitive answers on who could’ve been responsible.
“We don’t know anything other than what the streets are saying,” said Vaughn, 58.
Vaughn was one of about a dozen families who gathered Thursday in front of the Orlando Police Department Headquarters asking for law enforcement agencies in the region to meet with them to discuss better access to social services and how officers interact with communities of color.
The press conference, organized by Let Your Voice Be Heard Inc. and Equal Justice USA, also comes after the state’s Constitutional Revision Commission advanced a proposal known as “Marsy’s Law” — a “bill of rights” for surviving families of crime victims that would give them greater constitutional protections.
The amendment would extend rights for victims, protecting their families from harassment, keeping information about the victims’ whereabouts confidential, and granting greater participation for victims when defendants enter plea agreements, or are released from custody or sentenced.
But families argue that the proposed amendment, which is now under revision by the CRC’s Style and Drafting committee, doesn’t go far enough.
“We want to change the fact that there’s victim advocacy programs in place that we don’t understand or even get told about,” said Miles Mulrain, an
organizer with Let Your Voice Be Heard. “… And we don’t have community liaisons that know the neighborhood best who can provide those services.”
OPD Chief John Mina said he would be happy to meet with any concerned community members, although spokeswoman Michelle Guido said no one had approached the department for a meeting before the press conference.
“We go above and beyond to meet with victims and their families,” Mina told reporters. “We know the families are hurting and grieving — but we don’t want to release too much information … We release what we can.”
The parents of 28-year-old Antoneo Rashard Hampton, who was killed July 31, 2015, said they resented that they were asked to help with the Orlando Police Department’s investigation so soon after losing their son.
“We met with the detective four times … and he wanted us to put a wire in our car. That’s insane,” said Ronald Robbins, Hampton’s father.
Guido said it is not uncommon for family members to aid in the investigation “in a number of ways,” though she did not reveal whether using recording devices was among them.
Orange County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jane Watrel said detectives act with “the utmost respect and diligence.”
“These men and women make every attempt to keep families informed throughout the entire investigative process,” Watrel said. “We have compassionate Victim Advocates on staff who are dedicated to serving both crime victims and their families during their darkest hours.”
Mulrain said families are asking for mental health advocates to be present at crime scenes, so that families can be immediately connected to the services they need.
“Just like an EMT goes to the scene, you have social services go to the scene. So that’s what we want to see,” Mulrain said. “All of us have a story of being a victim who was once again re-victimized once going through the system.”