Victims deserve to be informed about their case. And to be heard.

As this year’s campaign season reaches its final weeks, there’s a lot of attention in North Carolina to the six constitutional amendments voters will consider on November 6. Unfortunately, not all of the information being presented to voters is accurate.

As the former district attorney of Wake County for decades, our team worked daily with crime victims and their families, representing victims of every sort of crime imaginable. I proudly consider myself a long-time advocate for crime victims and have worked on victims’ rights causes throughout my career. That is why I joined the team working to strengthen constitutional victims’ rights, known as Marsy’s Law for North Carolina.

It’s critical that North Carolina voters understand this amendment before they vote, and look beyond the partisan back-and-forth. To those who claim this law is not necessary, that current victims’ rights are enough and this law already exists, that is not the case. There are gaps in current law that leave victims and their families unprotected, and for many North Carolinians who have never been exposed to crime, it may not even be noticeable. But for those who have been suddenly pushed into the system, it’s a life-changing and constant struggle.

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