by Paula Dobbyn | Dec 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
After nearly four years without a children’s grief program in Alaska, the state is poised to get one.
Forget Me Not Grief Center of Alaska is opening next month. Starting in January 2022, Forget Me Not Grief Center will begin holding grief support groups for children ages 6 – 17. Adult groups will also take place.
These peer-driven support services are offered free of change and are geared toward children, teens, and families who are grieving the death of loved ones.
If you are interested in learning more, email forgetmenot.griefcenter@gmail.com or check out their website. Volunteers are needed. They complete 15 hours of training and commit to at least one year of service. This is approximately 3 1/2 hours, twice a month.
by Paula Dobbyn | Dec 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
The vast majority of violent crimes in Alaska in 2020 were aggravated assaults, about 69 percent of the total.
That lines up with national statistics too. According to the FBI’s annual data, aggravated assault is the most common violent crime in the U.S. It’s also the most likely to be reported to law enforcement.
What is an aggravated assault?
It’s defined as an attack or attempted attack with a weapon, regardless of whether an injury occurred, and an attack without a weapon when serious injury results. Serious injury includes broken bones, lost teeth, internal injuries, loss of consciousness, and any unspecified injury requiring two or more days of hospitalization.
To be threatened by a weapon means the perpetrator has threated or attempted to attack a victim with a gun, knife or any other object that could potentially inflict a serious of fatal injury.
Assaults may be classified as aggravated or simple. Factors that can raise a simple assault to an aggravated one include the use of a weapon, the type of victim, the perpetrator’s intent, and the degree of the victim’s injuries.
A total of 4,215 aggravated assaults were reported in Alaska in 2020, according to the Department of Public Safety. Some 8,791 cases of simple assault were also reported. Simple assault includes all assaults that do not involve use of a gun, knife, cutting instrument, or other dangerous weapon and in which the victim does not sustain serious or aggravated injuries.
by Paula Dobbyn | Dec 17, 2021 | Uncategorized
As daylight grows shorter and the holidays approach, the winter season can be a difficult time for those who have lost a loved one to homicide. That’s one of the reasons why Survivors of Homicide Victims Awareness Month (SHVAM) is marked every year from Nov. 20 to Dec. 20.
Every year, SHVAM is held in communities across the nation to draw attention to the traumatic impacts of homicide on families and individuals, and to amplify the voices of survivors of homicide victims.
The Anchorage Assembly and Mayor Dave Bronson have officially recognized Survivors of Homicide Awareness Month (SHVAM) with a resolution passed unanimously at the December 7 Assembly meeting.
The full text of the resolution is here.
The resolution notes that 48 homicides occurred in Alaska last year. Eighteen of them happened in Anchorage.
Losing a loved one to homicide is one of the most traumatic events a person can experience and the impacts are deep and wide ranging.
“Homicide victims are loved and grieved by mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, partners, grandparents, aunts, uncles, extended family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, colleagues, and communities across the country,” the resolution says.
It calls on Anchorage community members to respond to all “families suffering in the aftermath of a homicide with compassion and support services.”
“To all surviving family members of homicide victims in Anchorage, you are not alone. Your community joins you in your pain and offers empathy,” the resolution concludes.
If you wish to support services to the survivors of Alaska homicide victims, especially during SHVAM 2021, there’s a button on our website’s home page where you can donate. It’s also here. Thank you for your generous support.
by Paula Dobbyn | Dec 17, 2021 | Blog, News
If you have become the victim of a violent crime, you likely have questions about how to navigate the criminal justice process, and whether you need to have legal representation. Like many aspects of the court system, it can be complex and confusing. Here we try to break it down for you with answers to some basic questions.
One of the first things to know is that if the person who harmed you or a loved one is being prosecuted, the act they committed is considered a crime against the law, and not a crime against you as an individual. It’s the government’s responsibility (whether it’s the state, city, municipality, or federal government) to provide a legal team to handle the criminal case against the defendant(s).
These lawyers are called prosecutors. Their job is to present the case in a criminal trial against an individual accused of breaking the law.
Prosecutors who work for the state are called district attorneys. Some cities or municipalities have their own prosecutors. Prosecuting attorneys represent the state or the community with the goal of protecting the community from further harm.
Below are common questions you may have and basic answers. If the information you are seeking is not here, please contact Victims for Justice and ask to speak with a victim advocate. You might also reach out the Alaska Office of Victims’ Rights (OVR), a state agency that provides free legal representation to crime victims to ensure that their rights are respected.
(Note: For ease of understanding and consistency in legal language, this article uses the term “victim.” This term may be used to describe a survivor who has been directly impacted by a violent crime or the surviving family members of a homicide victim.)
Q: Can I press charges against the person who harmed me or hire a lawyer to press charges?
A: No. Only the government can file criminal charges against a person in Alaska. In some states, limited private prosecution is possible for some low-level crimes.
Q: Does the prosecutor represent me, the victim of violent crime?
A: No. The prosecutor represents the government and/or the community where the crime occurred. The only parties to the case are the prosecution and the defense. The victim is not a party.
Q: Since the prosecutor doesn’t represent me, how do I make my voice heard?
A: Generally speaking, the prosecutor and you may have the same goals: jail time, restitution or maybe probation. But sometimes, goals differ. As a victim, you have rights that ensure your voice is heard. If you feel your rights have been violated, contact the Office of Victims’ Rights (OVR).
Alaska is currently the only state that has a government-run office of victims’ rights attorneys dedicated to protecting the rights of victims. If OVR takes your case, one of their lawyers can file an entry of appearance and make arguments on your behalf at no charge to you.
Keep in mind that OVR attorneys are limited to protecting your victim rights. Sometimes, victims want their victims’ rights attorney to do something they do not have the power to do. For example, you and the OVR attorney do not have the right to block a plea agreement, see evidence, submit evidence, file charges, drop charges, or do many other things that the prosecution or defense teams can.
Q: Are there other instances where it might help to have my own attorney?
A: If you suffered financial and/or emotional losses, you may consider hiring a private attorney to file a civil lawsuit. In a civil lawsuit, you might gain financial compensation from the defendant. In this type of lawsuit, you cannot charge the defendant with a crime or have them put in jail. If you are interested in speaking to a lawyer about suing the defendant, contact the Alaska Bar Association Lawyer Referral Line They can be reached at 1-800-770-9999. In some instances, especially high-profile cases, it may also be to your advantage to hire an attorney to handle media interactions.
by Victims For Justice | Dec 3, 2021 | News Clips
By Patrick Enslow
Published: Dec. 3, 2021 at 9:05 AM AKST
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Dec. 2 is a difficult day for Nancy Furlow and her family as they remember the passing of Brandon Irlmeier, who died on that date in 2017 at the age of 20.
Every year they remember Irlmeier’s life by visiting a memorial at the base of a covered staircase on East Sixth Avenue, where he was killed. The family uses this time to honor Irlmeier and share things they wish they could tell him about what’s going on in their lives.
“We’re going to keep working hard to bring attention to your case,” Furlow said as she spoke to his memorial. “So that those responsible for killing you are brought to justice. We know you deserve that much.”
The Anchorage Police Department shared little details about Irlmeier’s case and said it’s an ongoing investigation, but Furlow, Irlmeier’s grandmother, said she has seen nothing in the case change since the initial leads following his death four years ago, including finding those responsible for his death.
It’s been difficult for Irlmeier’s family to visit the memorial, made more challenging by vandalism. They said it’s been targeted 20 to 30 times since they put it up.
“They put a bullet in there one time, in the flowers, and we felt like they were trying to just kill Brandon all over again,” Furlow said.
She added prior attempts to vandalize the memorial include ripping down wreaths, dousing it with fire accelerants and ripping up pictures and cards.
Anyone with information about this case should call 311 or Crime Stoppers (907-561-STOP) to remain anonymous.
Copyright 2021 KTUU. All rights reserved.
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