ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE
Date: April 12, 2016
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) Tony Rackauckas hosted the 8th Annual Victims’ Rights Rally yesterday, at the beginning of Victims’ Rights Week in remembrance of murdered victims, in celebration of surviving victims, and in honor of victims’ rights. Hundreds of victims, family, friends, law enforcement, and community leaders congregated at the Orange County Hall of Administration and laid flowers at the foot of a memorial wreath and held a candlelight vigil at the Rally to honor and celebrate the lives of murdered and surviving victims.
The Orange County Victims’ Rights event was established in 2009 after decades of legal efforts to secure the rights of crime victims. In 1990, Proposition 115 increased defendant sentences and decreased the number of times a victim had to testify. In 1996, Megan’s Law required sex offender registration and gave parents and the community access to sex offender residence addresses in their neighborhoods. In 2000, Proposition 21 increased the punishments for serious and dangerous gang crimes. In 2004, Proposition 69 required felony arrestees to submit a DNA sample and Proposition 66, which would have allowed the release of dangerous third-strikers, was defeated. In 2006, Proposition 83, or Jessica’s Law, instituted mandatory 15 years to life sentences for certain serious sex offenses against children. In 2008, Marsy’s Law codified victims’ rights into the California Constitution. Continue reading
