[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 8, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E542]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING JAMES ROWLAND

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 8, 2008

  Mr. COSTA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor one of our Nation's 
best victim's rights advocates. When you navigate the path of America's 
victims' rights movement, there is one person whose footprints are 
impossible to fill, difficult to ignore, and wonderful to follow. He is 
James Rowland, this year's recipient of the Ed Stout Memorial Award for 
Outstanding Victim Advocacy.
  And ``outstanding'' he is in so many ways! Most people know Jim as 
the ``father of the victim impact statement.'' Thirty-two years ago, 
when he was Chief Probation Officer in Fresno County, Jim saw a void in 
how courts made their sentencing decisions. In 1976, his revolutionary 
idea allowed written or oral information to be presented about the 
impact of the crime on the victim and the victim's family. To honor 
Jim's work in Fresno County, last year the Fresno County Probation 
Department renamed their crime victim facility as the James Rowland 
Crime Victim Assistance Center.
  These statements allowed courts to refocus their attention on the 
human costs of crime, and provide a way for victims to participate and 
have a true voice in the criminal justice process. Today, all 50 states 
and the Federal government allow victim impact statements in sentencing 
hearings.
  But Jim didn't stop there. He served as the President of NOVA from 
1981 to 1983, when the National Organization for Victim Assistance was 
helping to actually create a ``victim assistance field.'' This was back 
in the days when victims'' rights and victim services were almost non-
existent.
  When Jim Rowland was Director of the California Department of 
Corrections, he was appointed as the first Chair of the American 
Correctional Association's Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1987. Its 
landmark Report and Recommendations for Victim Services in Corrections 
helped create corrections-based victim assistance programs to provide 
support and assistance to victims in the post-sentencing phases of 
their cases. Earlier this year, Hawaii became the 50th state to 
establish a victim assistance program within its Department of 
Corrections. Mahalo, Jim!
  These accomplishments are amazing, but they pale in comparison to the 
number of professionals and volunteers who have benefited over the past 
40 years from Jim Rowland's guidance, mentoring and support. He is a 
kind, gentle and thoughtful man who has given so much to so many 
people, including crime victims and those who serve them.
  We wouldn't have a Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus today, were 
it not for the visionary efforts of Jim Rowland. Decades ago, he 
promoted victims' rights laws, policies and practices that our Caucus 
was created to promote in the U.S. Congress.
  Jim is described by his colleagues as a ``pioneer,'' a ``hero,'' and 
an ``outstanding Old Buffalo.'' I am proud to describe him as a 
constituent from my Congressional District in Fresno, California, and 
as a colleague who inspires all my efforts on behalf of victims of 
crime.
  Ed Stout, in whose name this award is given, knew and worked with Jim 
Rowland. Ed would, without a doubt, say ``great choice'' in honoring 
Jim with this award. He would also likely ask, ``what took you so 
long?''!
  It gives me great pleasure to honor Jim Rowland, one of the true 
pioneers in victim advocacy, with the 2008 Ed Stout Memorial Award for 
Outstanding Victim Advocacy.

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