Marion County's Victim Advocate offers a firm shoulder to lean on

Dec. 5—FAIRMONT — For months in late 2007, Denise Walker searched for her son in the Pittsburgh area.

Walker did what any loving mother would do. She filed a missing persons report with law enforcement, contacted local television stations and the FBI to try and find him, all with no results.

It wasn't until 13 months later that she learned the whereabouts of her son, Christopher Williams.

On the early morning of Sept. 6, 2008, a Fairmont Police Department detective called Walker to tell her that Christopher had been involved in a car accident. Later that day, she traveled to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital where she had to make the decision to take him off life support.

After learning about the tragic events that led to her son's murder, Walker and her husband, Rev. Clayton Walker, found a glint of hope. They were introduced to Kimberly Hawkins, the Victim Advocate for the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

"During this hardship and time of trouble for both my wife and I, it was Ms. Hawkins that not only guided my family through the court system and the trial process for the accused, but literally worked to give me faith in the judicial system of West Virginia," Clayton Walker said.

"You see, as an African American, and my son being an African American victim who was murdered by a Caucasian defendant, I had very little faith in the system in terms of providing justice for my son."

Here in Marion County, a Victim Advocate has served in the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for 19 years. Hawkins has worked in the Prosecuting Attorney's Office since 2006, and took over the Victim Advocate position in 2010. While she admits she "wears many hats," her mission is the same whether she is assisting a property crime victim, or a juvenile who has been sexually assaulted.

"My purpose is to lead all victims of crime through the judicial process," Hawkins said. "I have to be the liaison between them and the prosecutor — whoever's handling that case. I help them get ready for trials, I attend every court hearing with them and I basically just get them through that entire process."

Regardless of the crime, the victim becomes traumatized, often to a point they feel there is nothing anyone can do to help them.

"I've never had a homicide family like me the first time they met me — they usually yell at me, they usually cuss me. They have a lot of anger because of what's happened to them and they will take that out on me and that's OK, we've got to let them do that," Hawkins said.

She said after that initial meeting, the victim's family comes to understand that she is sincere.

"And then once they air that and they feel better and realize that I'm not going anywhere, I'm still here and you do need me, they get that, they get that sense. They end up becoming your family," Hawkins said.

Despite the confrontational meetings with victims, Hawkins said it is essential to not only listen to the victim, but to ensure they walk away feeling they have been heard.

"Every person's different, every crime is different, however, I have seen people be just as upset in a grand larceny case as they are in a rape case — that still was the worst thing that ever happened to them," Hawkins said. "So, any victim that comes to me, I have to meet them where they're at."

Depending on what comes out of the first meeting with the victim, Hawkins may refer the victim to a mental health counselor or other similar resource in the community. She also helps victims apply for compensation from the state.

"Depending on what the crime is, there's an application to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund — that is for violent crimes against a person — not monetary crimes," Hawkins said. "So, we'll do that application — it usually takes about nine months for that to come through. It will pay counseling, funeral bills, things of that nature. No pain and suffering or anything like that.

"We want to make sure that victim doesn't have to pay anything out of pocket because they're an innocent person."

Being accessible to the victim remains paramount to Hawkins, especially in the months leading up to the trial for the accused. She gives her cell phone number out to every victim, so they can text or email, whichever form of communication works best for the victim.

"I have kids that text me nightly at least three times a week in kid cases and it'll be something like, 'I wanted to color my hair, am I allowed to do that?' because they have a trial coming up. Or, it's 'I'm sitting here by myself, I'm starting to think about this, will you talk to me?' And, it's simple things like that," Hawkins said.

Hawkins works in lock-step with Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Dennis Kittle on most cases. Both she and Kittle strive to prevent re-traumatizing the victim by making them recount what happened to them.

However, Hawkins does help the victim write a Victim's Impact Statement, a document that is entered into the court record and is often read during the trial of the defendant.

Kittle said it's difficult to imagine doing his job without the work of the Victim Advocate.

"I would never prefer to do my job without a victim advocate," Kittle said. "Could I do my job without a victim advocate? Yeah, I can be an attorney without a victim advocate, but is my victim going to be served the best way that they can, maybe not, because I'm not the one with the resources — she's the one with resources."

Hawkins and Kittle make no false promises to victims. They are repeatedly telling victims that they cannot guarantee how any jury in any case will respond. Their goal remains constant — listen to the victim and help them have faith in the system.

"The first thing we say is 'We cannot tell you what 12 people are going to say — ever. We can tell you what we want them to say and what we'll do our best to get them to say, but that's it,'" Hawkins said.

"So, regardless of what happens — you never know what 12 people on a jury are going to decide, you just never know — but no matter what happens, it's not their fault and they know that, for the rest of their lives, they can always turn around and talk to at least two people that believe what they have said and that they can trust that they're not going to be a number," Kittle said.

And, often for Hawkins, the work does not stop after the defendant has been convicted and sentenced to prison. In the case of Robert James Winning, the man who was convicted for intentionally running down Christopher Williams with his car on Fairmont Avenue in September 2008, Hawkins was there for the Walker family.

"When it came for the defendant to be eligible for parole, it was Ms. Hawkins who guided us through the parole process, set our expectations for what was to come, and was a sounding board for us to vent our frustrations, not just once but in both parole hearings that the defendant applied for," Clayton Walker said.

For more information on the Victim Advocate program, call the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney's Office at 304-367-5380.

Reach Eric Cravey at 304-367-2523.