Dear Governor Cuomo,
My name is Kimberly M. Edwards and I am not
just a U.S. Citizen, but since the age of four a resident here of Tompkins
County. I am writing in regards to an attempt to amend the clause of Probable
Cause in the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. I am by far not familiar
with the law, although in 8th Grade Social studies I learned each
amendment by heart and at that time, the Constitution meant nothing to me, but
a test I would get an “A” on which I did by the way. I also at the time was
taught that it was there to protect us, only to grow and become a victim of
numerous sexual assaults and realize that the test I studied so hard for was
protecting all the wrong people. Don’t get me wrong I completely comprehend the
reason for Due process and the desire for probable cause. As I have tried to
understand it does say and I quote “The belief must be based on factual
evidence, not just on suspicion.” https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/probable-cause-searches.html
Obviously,
this quote has had a major impact on my life and I believe it is more than safe
to assume that I am not the only voice that has been silenced due to this
clause. Perhaps I have it wrong, because when giving my personal statement
along with plenty of evidence it seemed that I had enough to move forward with
a criminal case. The Distract Attorney of Tompkins County turned down my case
due to one line which they said “should not have been put in my statement.” So,
because the officers of our City are not all trained on how to take a victim’s
statement I was unable to go to court and be represented despite the fact that
the one piece of evidence they were concerned about was going to cause them to
lose. Another quote from them “a case we take to court must have enough
evidence that we have a 99%-1% chance of winning Sarcasm present, but do these
people get a trophy or something? Governor, I am a strong woman if you couldn’t
already tell by the fact I am writing you. I was willing to go to court despite
the odds. To me with witness’s those chances may have not been 99% in my favor,
but definitely more than 75%. But that is nor here nor there. Because of this
clause in the fourth amendment I was unable to go to court and use my voice to
tell my story and I know I am not the only one. I’m not writing to you just for
myself, but for all those who haven’t even had the opportunity to share what
was theirs. A story, a memory and what turned out to be a digression in my own
mental health and probably many others. What this clause is doing is silencing
people. Keeping them from coming forward, because unless your assault is on
camera it’s almost impossible to prove. Do these attorneys consider what they
do to victims who are brave enough to step up? Yes, I know we have take back
the night put on by the great Advocacy Center and the #metoo campaign, but it’s
not enough.
I want to tell you how
broken I am, but broken doesn’t win, a person whom is brave, courageous, strong
and determined enough despite their flaws and hurt are the people that make a
change in this world. I used to think, okay maybe that’s not pretense, but I
question often “What is my purpose here?” I feel like I am walking around with
a sticker on my head that says “rape me” just because I learned kindness before
the Constitution and people take advantage of it. They are getting away with it
left and right. So, on behalf of myself and all other victims I hope there is
something you can do to help me make probable cause less than a percentage an
attorney needs to win, but based on stories, evidence and even the questioning
of the defendant. My assailment was not even brought in. Perhaps I watch too
much SVU, but what they are doing works. They show the evidence brought in and
more often than not the defendant confesses. If you have any questions about the
evidence that I had feel free to contact me personally. I have nothing to lose
sadly. But on the other hand, I also have so much to gain.
Sincerely,
Kimberly M. Edwardshttps://youtu.be/9RKl0qBHmME
