A Victim's Right to Speak at Parole and Probation Hearings

This session will examine the right of victims to speak at parole and release hearings for offenders. Specifically, the session will address experiences in Washington state working to change both policy and law regarding the right to speak. The session will also discuss the importance of such statements by victims, answering questions such as: How do these statements affect decision-makers? What emphasis should decision-makers place upon victim statements? What place do victim impact statements have during the consideration of offenders’ pre-release decisions and conditions placed upon them? This session is geared toward advocates and criminal justice professionals with moderate knowledge of crime victims’ rights.

Ellen Hanegan-Cruse has been a Victim Advocate for over 20 years and currently serves as the Victim Liaison for the Washington State Indeterminate Sentence Review Board. Aside from her broad experiences developed through advocacy, other professional experiences include promoting victims’ rights by serving on numerous committees, boards, and interagency task forces, developing policies and legislative proposals, educating others as a presenter at trainings and conferences, and teaching courses on Victimology at the college level.

Steven R. Powers was appointed Chairperson of the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision in February 2007. He serves on the Governor’s Re-Entry Policy Council, the Monitoring & Evaluation Subcommittee of the Access to Justice Committee, and the Attorney General’s Restitution Task Force, among others. Prior to his appointment as Chairperson by Governor Ted Kulongoski, Mr. Powers served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Appellate Division of the Oregon Department of Justice. In that role, he briefed and argued a variety of civil, administrative, and criminal cases before Oregon and federal appellate courts, and was a member of the team of attorneys who defended Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act before the Supreme Court of the United States. He has volunteered his time with the Classroom Law Project’s “We the People” Constitution program coaching high school students and with the Imprint Program, which connects middle school students with local attorneys. Mr. Powers received a B.A. from Western State College of Colorado and his J.D. from Willamette University College of Law.

Kim Larson is the Director of the Marion County District Attorney’s Victim Assistance Division. She has more than fifteen years of experience advocating for victims of crime within the criminal justice system. Her experience includes advocating within the system for victims of child abuse, sexual assault, stalking, domestic violence, juvenile crime, and co-victims of homicide. She has also provided 24-hour crisis response to victims of sexual assault and co-victims of homicide in Marion County. Additionally, she created and managed a domestic violence program for the Victim Assistance Division. Ms. Larson has a passion for working with victims and is committed to ensuring their voices are heard within the justice system. She is an appointed member of the Victims’ Rights Compliance Project Advisory Committee, the Oregon SANE Certification Commission, the Oregon Department of Justice Violence Against Women Act Advisory Board, and the Oregon Domestic & Sexual Violence Services Fund Advisory Council. She is also an instructor for the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force Sexual Assault Training Institute and the Oregon State Victim Assistance Academy. She has a B.S. in Education from Oregon State University and a J.D. from Willamette University.

This conference is supported by Grant No. 2008-DD-BX-K001 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.