NORTH CAROLINA – If you live in North Carolina and have consumed any form of sponsored media recently, you’ve probably seen advertising promoting “Marsy’s Law”.

• Marsy's Law adds to rights victims of crimes have in North Carolina.
• It largely deals with informing victims of crimes on updates involving the accused.
• The full bill can be read here. 

“Marsy’s law,” or House Bill 551, is a bill that adds rights for victims of crimes in the state of North Carolina.

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It’s named for Marsalee Nicholas, a student at the University of California Santa Barbra student who was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983.

Following Nicholas’s death, her sister walked into a grocery store after visiting her grave and was confronted by the accused murderer; she, nor her family, had been made aware that the accused had been released on bail.

North Carolina is one of many states that have taken Marsy's Law into consideration.

Broken down, the bill gives victims of crimes the right to:

• Request reasonable, accurate, and timely notice of court proceedings for accused perpetrators of crimes against them.
• The right to be present at court proceedings.
• The right to receive restitution in a timely manner.
• The right to receive information on conviction, adjudication, and sentencing of the accused.
• The right for victims to present views and concerns to the Governor or agencies considering any action that could result in the release of the accused, prior to such action becoming effective.
• The right to reasonably confer with prosecution.

Additionally, if the victim is a minor, is legally incapacitated, or is deceased, family members and legal guardians can assume the same rights.

DECISION 2018 VOTER GUIDE

This will appear on the November ballot as:

House Bill 551: Constitutional amendment to strengthen protections for victims of crime; to establish certain absolute basic rights for victims; and to ensure the enforcement of these rights.