This is the Kator Daily Podcast for Tuesday, March 19th, 2019. I'm Kila Brown.

As state legislatures consider adding so-called Marcy's laws to state constitutions.

What exactly what these laws do?

Some evidence indicates these laws meant to protect victims of crime,

allow police to escape culpability for abusive behavior.

Cato's Jonathan Blanks comments.

A lot of states have been pushing Marcy's law, which is the idea is a victim's bill of rights. In general what's in that?

Marcy's law comes from an incident in 1983 where a young woman named Marcy Nicholas

was murdered by her ex-boyfriend and her brother

pushed this law that didn't pass until 2008 that was supposed to provide with these victims

will of rights to stop people who have been arrested from a crime from

hurting their their victims again and so this law includes like notice of

hearings like bail hearings you know whether or not they're going to trial.

It's also supposed to get victims feedback on if that person is up for parole or is going to be allowed for bail and also provides

for restitution in case you know there is some sort of payment to be made.

And you're on board with most of that?

Some of it I mean there are some due process concerns about, you know,

whether or not a victim should have any role in a parole violation, I mean,

a parole granting and some other things. But generally yeah it's not that big of a problem.

I mean the idea that somebody who has been victimized and is you know willing to make certain accusations and stand on those accusations and

assist in the prosecution, identify the person to make the victim whole in a sense.

Yeah absolutely I think we too often we don't think about the victims very much when we're

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