Bipartisan bill requires offenders to pay victims’ proxies for related expenses
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joined Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in cheering the news that President Joe Biden signed their Victims’ Voices Outside and Inside the Courtroom Effectiveness (Victims’ VOICES) Act into law on Tuesday.
“The road to recovery after a violent crime can be costly for both victims and their loved ones who support them,” said Whitehouse. “Our new bipartisan law will expand restitution coverage to ensure families of victims are financially supported while holding perpetrators accountable and seeking justice.”
“Family members of violent crime victims, including children and those who have died, should be reimbursed for the financial burden they take on to achieve justice for their loved ones,” said Cornyn. “This legislation will make victims’ representatives whole by ensuring they receive restitution from convicted criminals, and I’m glad to see it become law.”
The Victims’ VOICES Act ensures family members, legal guardians, and those appointed by the court who act on behalf of a victim during certain criminal court case proceedings receive restitution from convicted defendants for costs like transportation, lost income, and childcare that they incur.
“Every victim deserves justice, and justice should not come with a prohibitive price tag,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. “Thanks to this bipartisan law, victims and their families will no longer have to bear the financial burden of unfortunate circumstances for which they never asked.”
“On behalf of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence and our statewide network of member agencies, we are thrilled that the Victims’ VOICES Act was signed into law by the President! We thank Senator Whitehouse for his leadership in sponsoring this bill, and for always championing victims and survivors of crime, including victims of domestic violence here in Rhode Island,” said Lucy Rios, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Last year alone, advocates at our network of domestic violence agencies answered over 12,000 helpline and hotline calls and provided over 41,000 individual services to DV victims and survivors and their families. These heavy statistics show the scope and scale of our movement’s need for resources in order to provide these services to victims in our communities. Financial support and restitution are especially important, because they help survivors and their circles of support to heal and find resilience after experiencing violent crime. That is why this new law is so important, especially to the victims of intimate partner violence and other forms of abuse that we serve.”
The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, which was signed into law in 1996, requires defendants convicted of certain crimes, including violent crimes, to pay restitution to their victims. The restitution can cover a number of costs, including transportation, lost income, and childcare costs incurred while participating in the investigation or prosecution of the offense as well as medical and nonmedical care and treatment and associated costs. In the case of a victim who is a minor, deceased, incapacitated, or otherwise not capable of acting on his or her own behalf, a family member, legal guardian, or a person appointed by the court may “assume” the victim’s rights.
In many jurisdictions, individuals acting on a victim’s behalf have been precluded from receiving restitution for their own lost income, transportation, childcare, and other costs. This imposes a significant hardship on the victim’s representative and a barrier to vindicating the victim’s rights. The Victims’ VOICES Act would amend existing law to clarify that a person who acts on behalf of a victim is eligible to receive restitution for the expenses associated with participating in the investigation or prosecution of the offense, attending related court proceedings, or transporting a victim to receive medical, therapy, rehabilitation, or other services.
In addition to Senators Whitehouse and Cornyn, the legislation is cosponsored by Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).
The Victims’ VOICES Act is endorsed by the National District Attorneys Association, Raven, National Children’s Alliance, Major County Sheriffs of America, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), National Native American Law Enforcement Association, and the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA).
