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Dear Editor:
Wisconsin crime victims recently got a huge victory thanks to Representative Todd Novak, Senator Howard Marklein, and other legislators, who overwhelmingly supported a bipartisan victims' rights Constitutional Amendment known as Marsy's Law for Wisconsin. The Amendment now moves to a statewide ballot.
As a survivor of violent crime, I know how important it is for victims to have their rights protected throughout the difficult legal process. In 2004, I became a victim when I was kidnapped, beaten with a baseball bat, suffocated, dumped in a trash can, and left to die in a frozen storage shed. Despite narrowly surviving this brutal attack, too often I felt like I was the one on trial during the harrowing legal process that followed. I clearly saw the need to level the playing field between victims and the accused.
I'd like to express my sincere thanks to area legislators Representative Novak and Senator Marklein for supporting Marsy's Law for Wisconsin. My story, and those of so many other victims, clearly demonstrated the need to strengthen victims' rights in Wisconsin. I'm so grateful to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for coming together to clear this final legislative hurdle and move Wisconsin one step closer to making equal rights for crime victims a reality.
Now, it's time for Wisconsin's voters to have the final say on Marsy's Law for Wisconsin. I hope you'll join me in support of equal rights for crime victims and help prevent future victims from suffering like I did.
Teri Jendusa-Nicolai
Statewide Chairwoman
Waterford