![]() Art Competition Highlights Victim's Rights By N3 News Team To commemorate National Victim’s Rights Week the Newaygo County Prosecutor’s Office recently held their second annual Art Competition. The event recognizes the progress made in victim’s rights over the past few years. With over 40 entries submitted by students from Hesperia Grant and Fremont, the artwork represents this year’s theme of ‘Strength, Resilience, and Justice’. To aid in the selection of the top 5 candidates, law enforcement groups that including the White Cloud, Newaygo, Grant and Fremont Police departments as well as... ...the Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State Police, and the Prosecutor’s Office each cast a vote resulting in the five finalists.
Of these 5 finalists, 3 will be chosen by the Prosecutor's Office as the winners and will be announced at a ceremony on April 12th, 7pm at the Fremont District Library. N3 sat down with Newaygo County’s Victim Rights Provider Samantha Sheppard who has helped organize Wednesday’s Award Ceremony and learned a few things about victim rights. Until the mid-1980’s when the Office for Victims of Crime was established under the Department of Justice umbrella victim rights initiatives were scattered among jurisdictions across the country with little consistency. Victims did not have to be notified of court proceedings or of the arrest or release of the defendant, they had no right to attend the trial or other proceedings, and they had no right to make a statement to the court at sentencing or at other hearings. Moreover, victim assistance programs were virtually non-existent. Since then, there have been tremendous strides in the creation of legal rights and assistance programs for victims of crime. Victim Rights initiatives focus on helping victims in the immediate aftermath of crime and continuing to support them as they rebuild their lives. Ms. Sheppard also allowed N3 a peek at the candidates for top honors at the upcoming ceremony. And they are truly poignant, affecting, inspirational and yet another example of the depths of talent possessed by the young people of our community. These worthy entrants deserve some attention as do the efforts being made to ensure the rights of victims of crime continue to be recognized. As we said, the ceremony begins at 7pm at the Fremont Library and we plan on being there to see which 3 of the 5 will nab the top spots. Besides, there’s also a promise of refreshments making an appearance as well. Comments are closed.
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February 2025
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