Family members and crime victim advocates on Thursday testified before the Senate Victim’s Rights Study Committee in Douglas County.
The panel is charged with examining how Georgia’s criminal justice system deals with those left behind when a loved one is the victim of a violent crime.
Heard county resident Kelly Wiggins testified before the panel, which met in the Douglasville County Courthouse.
Wiggins' testifies before the panel: allowing pretaped testimony will allow "closure" for grieving families. (Dave Bender)
Wiggins' sister Marie was shot to death in Douglas County in 2004.
Wiggins implored the panel to consider pretaped video testimony for family members traumatized in court trials:
“…it would give people in the future, and parents the opportunity to say, ‘You know what? That was my right. That’s the only right I have as a victim to speak. And I did it. I couldn’t speak words at the time, but I did it in advance and the jury heard, in my own words, how this crime has affected me.’ It’s really, really important.”Carrollton Republican Senator Bill Hamrick chairs the five-member committee, which was established in May, 2008. The committee will report its findings to the 2009 General Assembly.
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