NYADP was one of the first state death penalty abolition programs to hire a full time staff person who represents and reaches out to victims of crime or their survivors as important participants in the criminal justice policy arena.  Marie Verzulli, Victim/Survivor Advocate for NYADP since April 2006, is herself a murder-victim family member and founded our Family and Friends of Homicide Victims (FFHV) group.  NYADP received funding for Marie’s staff work and for support of the FFHV group from State Senator Neil Breslin through a legislative grant awarded for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
 

 Marie and the other members of FFHV spoke about their experiences as survivors at a recent monthly “lunch and learn” meeting of the Restorative Justice Commission of the Albany Catholic Diocese.  Recalling the tragic deaths in their families, the speakers answered the four restorative justice questions that help those harmed by other’s actions:
•         What did you think when you realized what had happened?
•         What impact has this incident had on you and others?
•         What has been the hardest thing for you?
•         What do you think needs to happen to make things right?
 

Their moving program for the Restorative Justice commission audience resulted in an invitation to repeat their presentation at a class at The Sage Colleges in Albany.  The class professor sent the following grateful letter to FFHV:
 
 
March 6, 2010
 

Dear Marie, Jim, Jeff, Connie, Marguerite, Martha, Heather, Sharon, and John,
 

It is important to me that I address this letter to each of you as individuals because that is how your stories impacted my students and me on Tuesday night.  When you first sat down as a group …the students perceived you as ordinary people even though they knew what you were coming to speak about.  However, as each of you spoke, they began to see beyond the outer appearance.  They began to understand how your lives were forever changed by the death of your loved ones.
 
Three of my students raised their hands when you asked if anyone had lost a loved one to murder.  I knew of one of the students but not the other two.  I thank you for helping them to identify themselves.  I noticed afterward that several of you reached out to those students.  I thank you for your compassion.  You also approached other students and shared with them on a more personal level.   For me, it was difficult to turn off my feelings and thoughts just because the presentation ended, so I can imagine that many of them were feeling the same.  Your willingness to extend this time was important.