As indicated in my testimony, we feel that this bill addresses two specific concerns that victims have raised: the need for accountability for each life taken, and the anxiety and emotional toll victims face when an offender is granted a parole hearing. It's going to assist the legislation in both of those issues.
If I could say, the most powerful statement I've heard from a mom who lost her son and whose son's friend was killed was, “The most basic right is the right to life.” When a person takes that right away, not from one but from many, that compassion has to be expressed to the families as well.