Today in Denver a historic even is
taking place, honoring Colorado’s Victims and Victim Advocates
celebrating the 20th anniversary of Colorado’s Victims’ Rights Act.
Which begins with the promise that all victims should be
treated with fairness, respect and
dignity. This was a community event
highlighting Fairness, Respect, and Dignity… 20 Years of Victim’s
Rights and celebrating the new Victims Rights Act. This
celebration was sponsored by: Colorado Division of Criminal
Justice: Office for Victims Programs, COVA, Denver District
Attorneys Office, Denver City Attorneys Office, Denver Police
Department, Victim Assistance Unit, Mothers Against Drunk Driving,
Voices of Victims, and Parents of Murdered Children.

With all the laws that have been passed, and all the passionate advocates of victims rights what happens when law enforcement in your community just

doesn’t get the memo and follow those laws? What are people
supposed to do? Are they supposed to write certified letter
after certified letter asking kindly that the Sheriff and Coroner
do their job? Should victims of crime make endless phone
calls to try sdto set up meetings with elected officials that never
take place? Do they try to raise awareness, and get the
community involved? Do they start a blog to chronicle the
truth about a horrific event that took place in their life, day by
grueling day, because the Sheriff, and the Coroner’s office did not
do their job? Is there really an answer to reconcile such a
chasm?

Today,
ironically on the day to honor Victims Rights – Garfield Counties
finest chose to roll out their tank and have combat drills.
So what about all the victims they have chosen to run over in
their preparedness? The last thing Steve and I would do
now is call the Garfield Sheriff’s office for protection, they
instill fear, not fairness. And as for Respect, if you
have to ask, you have not read the blog. And what about
Dignity? Not one single drop, not
for Morgan, not for Steve, and not for I.

I’m not so sure what you would do here
if you had a stalker, or a peeping tom, or a murderer. Where
there are not answers, we must find solutions. Steve and I
have chosen to do anything, and everything within our power to get
the state of Colorado to wake up to some atrocities that lie
lurking. Nothing so massive as to need the battering ram of
an enormous tank, rather the education and awareness to take crimes
against the person more seriously. It would be nice to think
we can find officials to open our daughter’s investigation, not
only to get justice for Morgan, but to also get a dangerous
predator off the streets so this will not happen to another
family.

I know what
it’s like to feel like nothing bad will ever happen to “our”
family…it’s just something you read about in the newspaper or see
in a flash online. Especially in our beautiful Roaring Fork
Valley – in the 70’s we never even locked our doors, except when
Ted Bundy was running loose. Well haven’t things changed,
evil has arrived and our lives will forever be different. Has
law enforcement kept pace with the task? Perhaps not.
Honor and respect victims or have a drill with your tank, and
if priorities told the story maybe a new protocol is in order here,
soon.

We lost our
precious daughter, the world lost an amazing young woman that would
have certainly helped to better the world. And I know in my
heart that we are doing the right thing. Some days are harder
than others to keep going, but we have no choice…this is now our
purpose in life, and I know we will live up to it.

There are so many out there that just
need all of us – a community to watch out for each other, speak
out, ask questions, be involved. Take stalking seriously,
Colorado has the laws. Take Invasion of privacy for sexual
gratification seriously, Colorado also has those laws. The
rain gutter over Morgan’s window was split in two where he
obviously laid and leaned over to ogle and terrorize our daughter
and the detective would not even come see it, photograph it, write
a report about it. How much safer is that neighborhood
now?

It is up to us to
demand and take a few moments for the safety of all. Just 5
minutes out of your day and you might see something suspicious, and
by your actions a small child may be saved from what would have
been an abduction, or a young girl could be saved from her murder.
Don’t live in fear, live with awareness. If you hear
something that you know in your gut doesn’t sound right – tell
someone. It doesn’t matter who you tell, just know it has
gone from two eyes to four, then eight, then sixteen.

There have been some horrible
things happening lately in this country, but I believe the people
in this country are strong, they want to protect it’s people, and I
believe we are all waking up to the same understanding that it is
up to all of us if we want to be a strong Country again and protect
it’s citizens.