CARRIE'S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
Carrie has been fighting for justice her whole life. From 2002 to the present, Carrie has worked alongside the District Attorney's office, the Attorney General, and local law enforcement in the State of New Mexico to keep her abuser in jail, but it has not been easy. Many laws have improved, but not all. She believes that victims like her should receive better care and thought in the courtroom. For the first time ever, Carrie shares the timeline of her survival, and her experience in and outside the courtroom. She hopes to shed light on the challenges children face within the current justice system, and the life-long toll on survivors.
Recalling her lifelong fight for survival and justice, Carrie shares some of the personal cost, "I've been a living, breathing crime scene for the past twenty-two years," she states. "Whenever I go into an interview, or courtroom, I feel like I should be wearing a yellow crime-scene tape around my shoulders. Lawyers probe and inspect the things that happened to me, and for twenty-two years I've kept my memories and my pain intact. I have to think about these things every day and remember them for the trial."
Carrie believes that it isn't just survivors in court who experience this lifelong toll, "Remembering trauma is a natural thing," she says. "It's natural to remember traumatic events, so they don't happen again. I think every survivor remembers because there's always hope that someone, somewhere, will listen, whether in this world, or in the next. And until they do, it's our job to remember."
Carrie hopes that by sharing her story, lawmakers and state officials will consider creating laws to protect victims from re-traumatization and unreasonable and inhumane expectations in the courtroom. "There are many children who are victims of violent crimes," Carrie states, "It shouldn't cost them their survival of new traumas just to be protected and to believe that justice is possible."
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