Teenager's death inspired bill to empower victims and their families

Going into effect on Aug. 1, House Bill 1076 will require the Department of Corrections to consider feedback from crime victims when determining work-release placements for offenders. Rep. Christine Rolfes introduced the bill after learning that offenders and victims could end up nearby each other, leading to uncomfortable situations.

Rolfes notes that HB 1076 would not have happened without the passion and involvement of constituent Nora Sizemore, whose teenage son Kyle was killed in an automobile accident in 2005. The offender was eventually offered work release nearby in Sizemore’s community, which resulted in uncomfortable, tense situations for Sizemore and her family.

“For us, having the person who killed our son serving his prison sentence a mile from our home was a nightmare. It was like nobody cared at all about our condition or how we felt as we dealt with our tragedy,” Sizemore said. “With this bill, families will have a good amount of time to prepare and say what they want to say. And in some cases, this could be a matter of being kept safe and protected.”

Under current law, DOC is required only to inform the victim that the work release is happening. Now that feedback must be considered, DOC could change its preliminary decision based on the input.