CONTACT: Brian Reisinger
715-579-9679
br@platform-communications.com
[Madison, Wis.] – Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin today launched a statewide radio ad campaign demonstrating the urgent need for legislative support for Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin, a bipartisan proposal which would update Wisconsin’s Constitution to ensure equal rights for victims of crime. The ad features violent crime survivor Christina Traub and highlights several key components of the legislation.
Christina has been an outspoken proponent of Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin since the campaign’s statewide launch and has advocated for legislative support. “Every time I went into a courtroom, I just felt like I was pushed to the background,” Christina explains in the ad. “Everybody can name a criminal’s basic rights, but when asked what rights a victim has, I don’t even think anybody would be able to say.
The 60-second ad will launch in major media markets throughout the state and will urge listeners to contact their legislators and ask them to support Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin. Listen to the ad: https://marsyslaw.us/
Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin, introduced as Assembly Joint Resolution 47/Senate Joint Resolution 53, is authored by Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) and Representative Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville). With a broad and growing bipartisan statewide coalition supporting it, the legislation has passed key committees in both the State Senate and State Assembly, and is now awaiting votes by both full chambers of the Legislature.
You can read more on Christina’s story of survival here and find facts on Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin’s bipartisan legislation below:
· Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin follows a proud tradition in our state of protecting victims’ rights, unlike many other states. Wisconsin already has a constitutional amendment on victims’ rights that passed in 1993, and was the first state in the nation to pass a Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights. The state also is recognized as having some of the strongest statutory rights for victims in the country. This means the changes we are proposing are about making sure victims’ rights are truly equal alongside the constitutional rights of the accused – nothing more, nothing less.
· Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin strengthens rights that already exist in Wisconsin.The proposed amendment would do two things: Elevate certain rights currently under state statute to be fully constitutional rights, and strengthen other rights that are already part of the Constitution. An example of a right that is the law under state statute but needs to be elevated to the Constitution is the right to put victim restitution payments ahead of any dollars owed to the government. An example of a current constitutional right that needs clarification is the right to be heard throughout the legal process, including release, plea, sentencing, disposition, parole, revocation, expungement, or pardon – as opposed to just disposition.
· Nearly 80 percent of Wisconsinites support updating our state Constitution to ensure equal rights for crime victims. A poll of Wisconsinites found that nearly 80 percent support updating our state Constitution to ensure equal rights for crime victims. More than 80 percent support a victim’s right to speak up at more points in the criminal justice process, and 68 percent said they were “more likely” to support a state legislative candidate who supported Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin. The bipartisan legislation must be passed in the state Legislature twice, then by voters at the ballot box.
