In Maryland, the criminal justice system did not treat the Roper family fairly after their daughter Stephanie Roper was murdered in cold blood by two men. There are many instances that the court denied them fair treatment during and after the case's proceedings. One example was the court denying Mrs. Roper the chance to testify about her grief during the trial of her daughter's murder (Kiernan, 1983). Additionally, the court also exempted the family from the courtroom during the killers' trial though the victim was their daughter and sister. Such treatment is not fair, considering the court was supposed to deliver justice for the family yet did not want them to be present. To keep the Roper family out, the officials did not notify the family of continuing trials.
The only way the Roper family was treated fairly was that they were protected from their perpetrators since they were behind bars during the trial (Ap, 1983). The court also informed the Roper family of the conviction, sentencing, imprisonment, and release of the offender since they were present on the day of sentencing.
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There are multiple "modern-day" victims' rights violations that occurred to the Roper family during Stephanie's case. They include the right to be treated with fairness and respect. They also violated the right to be informed of all the court proceedings by word or through written documents (Kyl, Twist, & Higgins, 2005). Although the victims had the right to be present at all public court proceedings related to the murder trial, they did not attend some of the hearings. The Victims' Rights and Restitution Act was made official in 1990, years after the Stephanie Roper case was over.
References
Ap. (1983, March 27). Murder Brings a Fight for Tougher Penalties. Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/27/us/murder-brings-a-fight-for-tougher-penalties.html
Jon Kyl, Steven J. Twist & Stephen Higgins, On the wings of their Angels: The Scott Campbell, Stephanie Roper, Wendy Preston, Louarna Gillis, and Nila Lynn Crime Victims' Rights Act, 9 LCLR, 581 (2005).
Kiernan, L. (1983, March 07). Roberta Roper: Crusade Of an Aggrieved Mother. Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1983/03/07/roberta-roper-crusade-of-an-aggrieved-mother/58eba442-dc90-4f47-989e-31e65d34b425/
