[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6169-6170]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            CONGRESS MUST PASS VICTIMS' RIGHTS AMENDMENT NOW

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, this week is National Victims' Rights 
Week. I would like to take this opportunity to ask my colleagues in 
Congress to follow the lead of 32 States, including my State of Ohio, 
and pass a Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment.
  The amendment would allow crime victims to confront their assailants 
in court, at sentencing and parole hearings, require that they be 
notified about the release or escape of a perpetrator from custody, and 
guarantee them the right to seek restitution from their attackers.
  For far too long, victims of crime in this country have had to stand 
on the courthouse steps with meaningful justice just beyond their 
reach, not allowed to view proceedings in person, too often not 
permitted to speak out on behalf of a murdered loved one, not even 
notified when a violent abuser is turned loose.
  Crime victims deserve to be treated better. They deserve to be 
treated with

[[Page 6170]]

dignity in our criminal justice system. With the adoption of this 
amendment, we will finally say loud and clear that victims have 
inalienable rights too, which should be recognized by our Constitution.

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