Marcella Leach | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1929 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Victims' Rights Advocate |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net http://www.marsyslawforall.org |
Marcella Nicholas Leach (b. August 15, 1929) is an American victims' rights advocate based in Southern California and the mother of technology entrepreneur and victims’ rights leader Henry Nicholas.[1] After the murder of her daughter, Marsalee (Marsy) Nicholas in 1983, she helped build Justice for Homicide Victims, one of California's early victims' rights organizations.[2] Her late daughter is the namesake for Marsy’s Law, the California Constitutional Amendment and Victims' Bill of Rights, which appeared on the November, 2008, ballot as Proposition 9.[3]
Victims’ Rights
editOn November 30, 1983, Marcella Leach's daughter, Marsalee Ann (Marsy) Nicholas, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Kerry Michael Conley. [4] Marsy, then 21, was a senior at UC Santa Barbara and had come home to Pt. Dume, Ca., for Thanksgiving[5] when Conley, with whom she had broken up, shot her to death.
Conley was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 17 years to life in prison, where he died in 2007.[6][7] In the nearly 2-year interim between the murder and the trial, Conley remained free on bail, a fact that was particularly painful to his victim's family, as he was frequently seen around the neighborhood where Marcella Leach and her husband, Bob Leach, still lived.[8] In one particularly wrenching incident, Marcella Leach recalled being shocked when she encountered Conley in a neighborhood grocery store shortly after the murder.
Among those who comforted the Leach family was Ellen Griffin Dunne, the mother of actress Dominique Dunne, who had been strangled to death by a spurned ex-boyfriend the year before Marsy's death.[9] When Dunne decided in late 1983 to create a local support organization for the survivors of homicide victims[10], the Leaches were among the founding members, along with Henry Nicholas.[11] [12] The California Center for Family Survivors of Homicide was formed as a nonprofit, with a subgroup, Justice for Homicide Victims, as its public face. [13]
The Leaches assumed leadership of Justice for Homicide Victims in 1990, after Dunne who suffered from multiple sclerosis, moved to Arizona, where she died in 1997.[14] Bob Leach served for many years as the president of Justice for Homicide Victims[15], and Marcella Leach remains JHV's executive director. [16]
During the 1990s, the organization continued to push for improved law enforcement and longer penalties for convicted felons, including California's Three Strikes Law.[17] By the late 1990s and early 2000s, with Leach as executive director, the group claimed some 10,000 members.[18]
In recent years, the organization was further built and refocused as an educational non-profit.[19] In 2008, Marcella Leach was a signatory on the Marsy’s Law ballot initiative, [20] which was led and sponsored by her son.[21][22] The constitutional amendment was enacted by voters in November 2008 and became law.[23][24]
In addition to numerous awards by three governors, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, the Leaches have been honored by the National office of Victims of Crime and two Presidents.[25] In 2005, Marcella Leach was awarded the National Crime Victim Service Award from the U.S. Department of Justice.[26]
See Also
editReferences
edit- ^ Nicholas, Henry. "Marsy's law should be every American's right". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net/mleach01.html
- ^ http://www.marsyslawforall.org/about/
- ^ "Man sentenced in slaying of ex-girlfriend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ http://www.lacriminaldefenseblog.com/update-on-proposition-9/
- ^ Los Angeles Times
- ^ Greene, Robert. "The two Henry T. Nicholases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net/mleach01.html
- ^ Nelson, Valerie. "Screenwriter and advocate for the rights of victims". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Arnold, Roxanne. "Strangled Actress Did Slayer's Penalty Fit His Crime?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Nelson, p1
- ^ http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net/mleach01.html
- ^ "Congressional Record". 1999-06-08. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Simon, Stephanie. "Backers of Three Strikes Unflinchingly Defend Law". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Nelson, p1
- ^ http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net/mleach01.html
- ^ Simon, p1
- ^ Simon, p1
- ^ http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net/discover.html
- ^ Mickadeit, Frank (2010-04-21). "Slain sister gone but not forgotten". Orange Country Register.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ http://www.friendsofmarsyslaw.org/yes-vote-on-prop-9.htm
- ^ http://www2.ocregister.com/articles/nicholas-spitzer-victims-1986195-law-rights
- ^ http://ag.ca.gov/victimservices/marsys_law.php
- ^ Thompson, Don (2008-11-05). "2 California crime initiatives fail at polls, 3rd survives as count continues". Associated Press.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ http://www.lacriminaldefenseblog.com/update-on-proposition-9/
- ^ http://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net/mleach01.html