The criminal justice system is not designed to answer to the needs of crime victims. It’s designed to figure out if there’s enough evidence to bring a case. If there is, a defense attorney builds a case for the defendant and a prosecutor builds a case for the state of Vermont. The alleged victim in the case becomes a witness in their own story. They may have felt the impact of a crime, but they play no direct role in how the crime is adjudicated. For most people brand new to the system, this comes as a shock.
In every Vermont prosecutor’s office, in the Vermont State Police, in the Department of Corrections, there are people who see to the needs of these victims, from the time a crime is reported until long after the attorneys have gone home. It’s not their job to build cases or determine guilt or innocence. Their job is to support the victims in their cases. And that can mean a million different things. But always it’s complex and deeply personal.
This is a story about the victim advocates.
This show features:
Kate Brayton, victim advocate for Vermont’s Major Crime Unit
Amy Farr, victim advocate for Vermont’s Attorney General’s Office
Val Gauthier, victim specialist at the FBI covering Vermont and the Plattsburgh area
Aimee Stearns, victim witness coordinator at Vermont’s U.S. Attorney’s office
Danielle Levesque, victim service specialist at Vermont’s Department of Corrections
Kelly Woodward, victim advocate at the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s Office and victim advocate at the Northwest Unit for Special Investigations
Big Thanks to Toni Monsey for introducing me to these women, and to Jessica Dorr, Corrections Services Director.
Music for this show by Vermont musician Brian Clark and Kai Engel
This show is sponsored by Honey Road, the best restaurant in Burlington, Vermont. Click below for menu and accolades….
Once again, Erica Heilman has brought to our attention something that most of us have never thought about or even knew existed. And once again she has introduced us to some very admirable people doing important work without fanfare or even knowledge that they or their mission was in place. We should all be grateful to them and to Erica for telling their story so well.
EAH
I notice that all interviewees are women. I’m sure there are men who act as victim advocates, but frankly, it isn’t surprising to me that all the people you spoke to in this episode are women. (Another on the very long list of reasons why we need a woman to be our president, but that’s another argument for a different podcast comment section. : )
Can’t say i disagree. I think a woman president would do a world of good for us. particularly if that president were Elizabeth Warren. MOST of the victim advocates are women…it’s true. So it didn’t seem weird to not pursue a man to interview…though I will say that in a lot of shows I’ve made about social services, men are right there in the mix.