Victims' rights advocates focus on children

GAINESVILLE - The focus was on children Friday morning as dozens of people gathered in Kenyon Plaza in downtown Gainesville for the annual observance of National Crime Victims' Rights Week.

The event was coordinated by the Hall County Solicitor's Office and the Hall County District Attorney's Office.

Hall County Solicitor Stephanie Woodard, who moderated the program, said there was a time not too long ago when victims of crime had no rights.

"Our system was founded on protecting the defendant's rights and making sure that a trial was fair for them," said Woodard.

Now, though, Georgia has adopted a Victim's Bill of Rights, according to Woodard.

"[It says] you have a right to know when someone's been arrested - when they are in custody - to be informed of all the court proceedings, to be present at the court proceedings and to even get to be in the courtroom."

At the onset of the 11 a.m. ceremony, Woodard told those gathered at Kenyon Plaza that she wanted them to remember Austin Sparks, a toddler who was abused by his mother and ultimately beaten to death by a teenage boy, who acted as a live-in babysitter.

Woodward said Austin's case was one that spurred Gainesville and Hall County to act on behalf of victims, particularly children who were being victimized. Advocates founded both the Edmondson-Telford Center for Children and the Children's Center for Hope and Healing as a result.

"In response to Austin losing his life at 17-months, this community said 'What can we do...to respond better, to take care [of children]?,'" said Woodard.

"It's so speaking that 16 years later, when Austin would have been 18 and graduating that we're not there yet because this little one who couldn't protect herself was injured."

Woodward was referencing the injury and subsequent death of Kaylee Kipp, the 18-month-old Gainesville girl killed in June 2011. The child's mother Deanna Kipp and the mother's boyfriend Steven West were convicted of murder in 2012.

Fittingly, a police investigator and lead prosecutor in the Kipp case were honored at Friday's event. Hall County Sheriff's Deputy Nicole Bailes, who was working as an investigator with the Gainesville Police Department at the time, and Lindsay Burton, the Chief Assistant DA, received accolades for their roles in bringing justice to the murder victim.

Bailes noted that Kaylee's case was the first murder investigation she had ever worked, while Burton said it was the type of case a prosecutor never forgets.

"There are some cases that you don't leave at the door when you walk out of the office, and this was one of those cases," said Burton.

As the ceremony ended, participants received small envelopes containing butterflies. Woodard reminded the audience of the symbolism of the butterfly release, saying that a wish or a prayer whispered to the butterfly would be carried to God on the butterfly's silent wings. She urged them to remember the victims.

The Friday event was the fourth annual observance of Victims' Rights Week in Gainesville.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/4/260956