KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Monday marked a solemn day for families across Tennessee — National Day of Remembrance for Homicide Victims. The day is meant to honor people who died due to violent crime.
To honor victims and their families Charme Allen, the Knox County District Attorney General held an event to remember the victims. Pictures and memories of the victims were posted online, organized by the counties they were from, as well as their birth year and the year they died.
Allen read the names of those victims in the City County Building. One of them was Emma Walken, a spunky cheerleader who found her angel wings when she was just 16 years old.
"Emma, she was a very independent, very spunky child. She liked to make people laugh. She loved children, she wanted to be a NICU nurse," said Jill Walker, her mother.
Emma was a victim of domestic violence by her high school boyfriend. She died in 2016, and more than six years later her mom still carries her daughter's name on her wrist.
"I want to live on for her, and be a voice for her with domestic violence," she said. "It's an everyday sadness that we have to live with."
Every victim memorialized on Monday came from a different background, but had the same tragic ending.
"Every number represents a life and being, an individual, that was loved by their mom, their dad, their brothers, their sisters, their children," said Allen.
Many of the victims' families and working to enact change through lawmakers. Marsy's Law would amend the state constitution to include a list of rights that victims would explicitly have involving the sentencing and trial procedures of people convicted of crimes.
The amendment would add 13 specific and enforceable rights to the state constitution. They are listed below.
- The right to be treated with fairness for the victim's safety and dignity
- The right, upon request, to reasonable notice of all criminal public proceedings and all juvenile delinquency proceedings involving the accused
- The right to be present at all public criminal proceedings and all public juvenile delinquency proceedings involving the accused
- The right upon request to be heard in any proceeding involving release, plea, sentencing, disposition, and parole, as well as any public proceeding when relevant during which a right of the victim is implicated
- The right to be heard and informed of all parole procedures, to participate in the parole process, to provide information to the parole authority to be considered before the parole of the offender, and to be notified, upon request, of the parole or other release of the offender
- The right to be free from harassment, intimidation, and abuse throughout the criminal justice system, including reasonable protection, as defined by the General Assembly, from the accused or any person on behalf of the accused
- The right, upon request, to reasonable notice of any release, transfer, or escape of the accused or convicted person
- The right to full and timely restitution from the offender
- The right to a speedy trial or disposition and a prompt and final conclusion of the case after the conviction or sentence
- The right to be informed of the minimum sentence the offender will serve in custody and the scheduled release date
- The right to have the safety of the victim, the victim's family, and the general public considered before any parole or other post-judgment release decision is made
- The right, upon request, to confer with the prosecution
- The right to be fully informed of all rights afforded to crime victims
The Tennessee Senate still needs to vote on Marsy's Law before it can go before the governor. If adopted, Tennessee would be the 13th state to enact it.
"Unfortunately, throughout the state, there's a lot of victims, families and victims that, you know, fall through the cracks. And we're here to make sure that that doesn't happen anymore," said Bonnie Brezina, State Director for Marsy's Law for Tennessee.