Marsy's Law for Wisconsin Hosts Event to Educate Milwaukee Residents on Crime Victims’ Rights and Available Services

MADISON – This week, Marsy's Law for Wisconsin hosted a community outreach event aimed at informing the Milwaukee area Latino community about their rights under Wisconsin’s crime victims’ rights constitutional amendment known as Marsy's Law.

“We’d like to express our gratitude to the organizations who helped make this educational event possible and who work tirelessly to serve victims in the community each day,” said Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin Outreach Director Nela Kalpic. “We’ve been extremely gratified to see the positive impact of Marsy’s Law since it was enacted nearly two years ago, and we appreciated this opportunity to help inform Milwaukee County residents about their rights under the new amendment and the valuable services offered by community partners.”

The event was held in partnership with UMOS, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, the City of Milwaukee Office for Violence Prevention, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

“We were thrilled to join Marsy’s Law for Wisconsin and other key Milwaukee area stakeholders for this opportunity to help educate the community we serve about victims’ rights in Wisconsin,” said Mariana Rodriguez, Director of UMOS Latina Resource Center. “Educating the Latino community about their rights under Wisconsin law is crucial to ensuring their ability to access those rights if they ever become a victim of crime.”

Speakers from each organization presented information on the new crime victims' constitutional amendment and resources available to area residents.

“Under the new crime victims’ constitutional amendment, legal system stakeholders in Milwaukee County and around the state have increased our focus on the role of victims in the legal process,” said Matthew Torbenson, Deputy District Attorney at Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. “Through our work to educate residents about their rights under Marsy’s Law, we can help ensure that they can fully exercise these rights if they ever find themselves navigating the legal system as a victim.”

The event provided information to community residents about the rights that exist for Wisconsin crime victims under the crime victims’ constitutional amendment enacted in April of 2020 with overwhelming public support.

“Working directly with residents of our community who have experienced violence, we hear too often how difficult it is for victims of crime to navigate the legal system,” said Karin Tyler, Family Injury and Violence Prevention Manager at City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention. “We hope that by informing them about the rights and protections they are granted under Marsy’s Law and the resources available to them, we can help them better navigate that challenging process.”

A full list of the rights available to Wisconsin crime victims under Marsy’s Law is available here. You can watch a live stream of the event from the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention below:

Log in or sign up to view

See posts, photos and more on Facebook.