From the very beginning, and for the rest of your life, things are going to be different.  As you evaluate what you need to do, don't lose sight of your priorities.  If you spend all your time trying to find an attorney for minor assistance you won't have any time left to get the major things done.  In the case of opposing clemency or parole, as a member of the victim's family, it is not really necessary to have an attorney who represents you but a competent attorney, one who is politically connected, can do things behind the scenes which can have an impact on board members who ultimately make the decisions.  Since the amount of billable time an attorney will realize from assisting in opposing parole is low, it may be difficult to locate a firm willing to take on your case.  Also, the States Attorney office which prosecuted the case will usually be involved when the convict applies for release.  Hence, don't spend too much of your time trying to locate an attorney.

There are links from this site to other sites which deal with these topics in greater depth.  I am not a lawyer or a Ph.D. in any area.  These writings are merely my opinions on these matters, and the result of our experiences, since being forced into the role of VICTIM in 1992.

In order of value of impact in relation to the energy required, you must consider:

Writing letters to each member of the parole board or clemency commission

Collecting signatures on a petition which allows many people to signify their opposition to releasing this criminal into society.

Send e-mails to each member of the board involved in reviewing the application for release.

Contact legislators and other public official and asking for their support on your behalf.  They can write letters to the appropriate board members encouraging them not to release the criminal.

Contact victim rights advocates, such as us.  These groups grew out of personal experience and will write letters to the board members on your behalf.  We have a list of people whom we can contact who will also write letters.
 

Get everyone you know to participate in sending letters on your behalf.  These letters must go to each member of the commission or board involved in deciding whether on not to release a criminal back into society.  The letters should each contain the name and address as well as the signature of the person who is 'writing'.  It should contain the name of the convict and the case number or Department of Corrections (inmate) number.  The letter should be concise.  Usually only one page.  The issue of release for an inmate is usually a single issue such as 'they were a victim of abuse' or 'hardship of some sort'.  These letters should counter this issue directly and usually deal only with the violent act of the crime itself.  This would be a good time to outline the impact that this criminal has had on your life; emotional, financial and physical.  What led up to the crime or what happened after the crime is frequently not an issue which warrants going into in this type of letter.  Remember there was a trial and this creep has been convicted and sentenced.  The board members have access to the transcript of the trial.  If certain facts didn't make their way into the transcript it won't do any good to waste paper now to bring it to anyone's attention.  Remember, if you can, that the members of the parole or clemency boards are on your side.  Venting on them could backfire.

The addresses of the members to whom these letters must be sent can be obtained from the Victim Advocate office of the States Attorney office which has jurisdiction in the case.  Try to follow conventional forms of address for the members to whom you send letters.  Usually these people are addressed as 'Honorable' with a salutation of 'title, Mr., or Mrs.' i.e.;

Honorable John Smith
Governor of Vermont

Dear Governor Smith:
 
 

Petitions should be a single page design which states the name of the victim, the board or official to whom the petition will be forwarded.  It may or may not state the name of the survivor(s).  This will assist people who are signing the petition in identifying who they are supporting.  The petition should outline the nature and date of the crime, the name of the person(s) convicted of the crime, as well as any brief description of actions leading up to or following the crime.  The crime of which the criminal was convicted, the sentence assigned and the date of the conviction should be included as well.  Be sure to include the specific statement that 'we the undersigned are opposed to - - - and a because clause'.

Make space for as many signatures as possible on this one page.  Signatures should be accompanied by printed name, address and phone number.

This design allows many pages of signatures to be gathered without having to circulate a book because every page contains pertinent descriptions and may stand by itself.

Be creative in circulating your petitions.  Law enforcement agencies will usually be willing to allow their staff to sign these petitions.  This can be helpful in cases where you, the victim, do not live in the state where the case is being heard.  You can call police departments and sheriff departments and ask if they will be willing to receive your petition and send it back to you or directly to the board involved.

Be sure to examine the collected petitions and try to mark any duplicates if possible.
 

Most officials within government have e-mail addresses.  If the case is a clemency application,  usually the governor and certain other officials sit on this board and their e-mail address can be found on the state web site.  Again the e-mail addresses should also be accessible through the Victim Advocate office of the States Attorney.
 
 

There are many web sites, some of them are included on this site, which deal with advocacy as well as many organizations which publish news letters.  These organizations will usually write lend a hand by writing letters on your behalf to boards and may even be able to include your case in their next news letter if there is enough time.

Legislators at the state as well as the local level are accessible on the internet.  When you send an e-mail to an elected official be sure to include the facts in the case(briefly) as well as the date of the hearing and which board is hearing the case.  Be specific about what you want the legislator to do on your behalf, if they feel that the facts warrant any action, such as write a letter or get some information  for you.

In addition to writing or sending an e-mail, it is a good idea to phone the legislator's office and speak to their aide(usually there is more than one).  Again, be prepared to outline the facts and be specific about what you want the official to do.

As it comes down to the date of the hearing, gather the petitions which you have collected and make an appointment with each member of the board which is hearing the case.  If this is a clemency case and the members consist of elected members of the cabinet ask for an appointment with the member's aide who deals with the clemency issues.  Deliver the petitions in person, if you can secure an appointment, preferably no later than a couple of days before the date of the hearing.  By appearing in person, you will reinforce your sincere interest in keeping this criminal in prison.  Admittedly, if every victim would personally call on each board member, there would be fewer criminals granted hearings because the boards would all be busy with us.

Getting good legal help requires an interview process.  Just like the last time your were looking for a job.  Only this time you are the employer.  Don't be afraid to ask questions and be prepared to outline what you expect them to accomplish on your behalf.

Be careful when it comes to selecting an attorney.  If the crime was murder, you will need the services of a law firm who has either prosecuted murderers or defended them.  Sure you can get good advice from a divorce lawyer or a firm which specializes in workmen's compensation or torts.  And sometimes these firms have a desire to develop their expertise in criminal areas.  But, the law is very precise and procedural in orientation.  Therefore, an attorney who has had active experience in criminal law and of the type which you find yourself in the middle of will be better able to guide you and, if necessary, protect you.

Even though you have the ability to pay, even large sums, there are times when attorneys won't desire to become involved.  From their perspective, it may simply not be good business management for them to take on your case, but, keep on trying law firms until you either decide that you can do it yourself or that you need to move on to other productive matters.
 

Remember, true professionals in law enforcement and in the prosecutors office have the ability to ignore press coverage and the responsibility to protect and defend you.  The list of constitutional rights does not include the right to be protected.  You must do this for yourself.

If the issues surrounding your particular case are sufficiently interesting you won't have any trouble attracting the interest of the press.  Remember that sensationalism is what sells but what sells can sometimes work against you.  If you are a victim of sexual abuse or rape for instance, you may not be prepared to have the world know the 'intimate details'.  This is your personal entitlement.  Protecting yourself may include not talking to the press at all or, if you do, you still may refuse to discuss certain issues.  Remember anything you say can find its way into an article or a film segment.  Even if you said it 'off the record'.

Don't try to use the media as a substitute for criminal investigation.  Some facts should remain known exclusively by the police.  If you aren't careful, you could end up helping the criminal or complicate the investigation by releasing too much information.

In the event that the 'authorities' are truly lazy in their pursuit of the case, especially in 'an election year', media attention can focus on this issue and get them off the dime.  For the most part, even though they are usually understaffed and overworked, the police and prosecutor are really in your corner.  Stories of cases being swept under the carpet are true but, they constitute a small percentage of the work that gets done.

Usually, if you decide to court the media, you can do it yourself.  Contact the news department of radio and tv stations directly.  Ask to speak to their crime reporter or the person who covers court activity.  Give them your name and a way to contact you easily.  If they can't get in touch with you, they can't do a story that will help your cause.  Don't be surprised if their presentation of your story seems dispassionate.  Their job is to report the news.  They are not commentators.

Media consultants(PR firms) can help you with press releases.  They have contacts that make it possible to get the coverage you need and can insure the issues are stressed the way you want it done.  The negative is that these PR people exist by having long term relationships, usually with political or business clients.  The time it will take them to delve into your case is about the same as it would be with any other of their clients but the length of their relationship; the time that they can bill for, with you will be very short.  Thus the cost of their expertise will be very high.

Given enough money; lets face it, if you were truly wealthy you wouldn't be reading this page, media consultants can improve the depth of coverage and reduce the time you will have to spend calling the radio, tv and news papers yourself.

Make a list of all the media whose coverage has included cases like yours.  Local media is very important because it can elicit strong reactions directed at the police and prosecutor because these reactions are coming from the neighborhood of the crime.  National coverage can keep local interest alive.  Usually it takes longer to produce articles for television or radio formats such as 'INSIDE EDITION' or '48 HOURS'.  Cases which appear in these venues usually occur after local coverage has ebbed, thus, this coverage can precipitate renewed coverage at the local level.

These venues don't usually pay for your story but, if they do, it can taint your cause. So, be careful.  If they do pay, it is only for the BIG story and for exclusive rights.  Exclusive rights can be detrimental to your interest if the real issue is to get the criminal tried and convicted in a court of law because it reduces the breadth of coverage.

Do you have the facility to cry on command?  Do you have physical injury which can be shown and photographed?  Do you make a good story?  These are things that media people will actually consider and even ask you out right when they are asked to consider covering a case.

In some personal instances, the emotional act of coping with the media can be more valuable that the impact that the coverage has in instigating prosecution of your case.  Frequently, the emotional stress and invasion of personal privacy is too high a price for victims to pay to get a case prosecuted.  You have to decide this for yourself.

Remember too, that judges and juries 'don't take any notice' of the media when they consider a case at trial.
 

As with other topics, this site contains links to sites which reference counseling.  An important issue to many victims.  I believe that it is even more difficult to locate effective counseling than it is to locate legal and media assistance.  Probably, by virtue of the fact that you are researching this site, you are beyond the need for counseling.

I find that counseling services fall into several categories;

Depending on the nature of the crime, and your relationship to the principals, your finances can be seriously affected.  Most certainly, if there is loss of income, you will have to consider how the bills are going to be paid.  Lawyers, detectives, travel, time away from your job and acquiring the necessary tools to facilitate pursuing the case will almost always require money.

If you intend to take an aggressive position in investigation and prosecution of the case either because the police and the prosecutors won't or because there is a lack of evidence to motivate them you could require some serious help.

In some cases, either because of your lack of ability to pay, the visibility of the case or just generosity, you may be able to attract legal, investigative, medical and general financial aid.  Don't be afraid to approach any resource for help.  If they don't know about the case or your needs there is no way that anyone can make a decision whether or not they can help you.

If this case has deprived you of your ability to pay your bills, temporarily, the States Attorney office who prosecutes your case can assist you in notifying your creditors of the circumstances.  This will make them more receptive to accepting your plan for getting caught up with your debts.