[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 60 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E639-E640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING ROBERTA ROPER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 25, 2012

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the work of a 
remarkable woman from Maryland, Roberta Roper, and to express to her 
the appreciation felt by so many across our state and throughout the 
country.
  In 1982, Roberta and her family faced their darkest days when they 
learned that their daughter, Stephanie--a talented artist and college 
student--had been kidnapped, raped, and murdered. While struggling with 
her own personal pain and grief, Roberta learned that there were no 
supportive services for her and her family as they struggled with the 
loss of their daughter. Even more devastating was that the criminal 
justice system lacked the rights and support they needed as family 
members of a murder victim.
  That same year, to honor the memory of their daughter and to address 
the inadequacies between the rights of a defendant and those of a 
victim of crime, Roberta and her husband, Vince, founded the Stephanie 
Roper Foundation. The Foundation's mission has been to provide 
supportive services to crime victims across Maryland for thirty years. 
They also established the Stephanie Roper Committee, the Foundation's 
legislative arm, which has resulted in over sixty laws enacted to 
create new or improved crime-victim rights and services.
  With Roberta's active encouragement, the Maryland General Assembly 
created the State Board of Victim Services in 1988. This Board offers 
recommendations to the legislature and to the Governor on matters 
concerning state and local efforts to assist victims of crime. In 1994, 
Roberta was appointed as Chair of the Board, a position she held until 
her retirement last October.
  In 2002, the Foundation merged with the Maryland Crime Victim 
Resource Center, a one-stop, statewide non-profit that provides victim 
services, crisis assistance, legal help, victim notification, financial 
help, social services, and links to national victim resources.
  Roberta's activism since her daughter's tragic death in 1982 led her 
to so many important accomplishments benefitting my home state. These 
include the creation of the Maryland Victims of Crime Fund, legislation 
ensuring victims and their families a place in the courtroom and a 
voice during the sentencing process, the creation of new support and 
services for victims and their loved ones, as well as the ratification 
of an amendment to the Maryland Constitution guaranteeing crime victims 
the right to be informed, present, and heard throughout the 
investigatory and judicial process.

[[Page E640]]

  In addition to her tireless efforts to improve victims' treatment, 
Roberta serves as Co-Chair of the National Victims Constitutional 
Amendment Network--a network of states working with Congress to enact a 
Constitutional amendment establishing meaningful and enforceable rights 
for every crime victim in this country.
  Today, I join in honoring Roberta Roper for turning a deeply 
saddening and difficult tragedy into a thirty-year movement to provide 
crime victims and their families a greater voice.
  Stephanie Roper once said: ``One person can make a difference, and 
every person should try.'' Roberta Roper has built a lasting legacy in 
her daughter's name by doing just that--and we are all better off for 
it.

                          ____________________