VICTIMS' RIGHTS HISTORY
 

1991 U. S. Representative Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) files the first Congressional 

Joint resolution to place victims’ rights in the U. S. Constitution.

 

The U. S. Attorney General issues new comprehensive guidelines that establish procedures for the federal criminal justice system to respond to the needs of crime victims. The 1991 Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance implement new protections of the Crime Control Act of 1990, integrating the requirements of the Federal Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights, the Victims’ of Child  Abuse Act and the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982.

The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) establishes a Victim  Issues Committee to examine victims’ issues and concerns related to community  corrections.

The International Parental Kidnapping Act makes the act of unlawfully removing a child outside of the U. S. a federal felony.

Statutes prohibiting notoriety-for-profit have been passed by many states at this time to prevent convicted criminals from profiting from the proceeds of depictions of  their crime in the media or publications.

 

New Jersey legislature passes a victims’ rights constitutional amendment, which is ratified by voters in November.