NATIONAL DISTRICT ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION DEDICATES NEW MEMORIAL TO PROSECUTORS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY
Columbia, SC – September 20, 2004 – The National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) will be dedicating its new Memorial in honor of prosecutors who have been killed in the line of duty at the Ernest F. Hollings National Advocacy Center (NAC) on the campus of the University of South Carolina from 6:00 to 8:30p.m on September 20, 2004. The artist who conceived, designed and made this impressive Memorial is Steve P. Zouras of Irmo, SC.
This dedication ceremony will take place during a conference at the NAC about “Getting Inside: Understanding and Tackling the New Generation of Gangs,” and will be attended by state and local prosecutors from around the country who will participate in this conference.
Paul F. Walsh, Jr., President of NDAA and District Attorney in Bristol County, MA said, “Prosecutors, as the people’s attorney, are charged with the responsibility of protecting victims of crime and their families, ensuring that truth and justice prevail by holding criminals accountable for their actions and keeping their communities safe for law abiding citizens. Those who are prosecutors have answered a calling, and are among the true heroes of our society. This Memorial will stand in modest recognition of the selfless acts of prosecutors in the pursuit of justice.”
The names of the following prosecutors are engraved on this memorial and their families will join in this dedication ceremony: (1) Eugene C. Berry, Assistant State Attorney in Florida’s 20th Judicial Circuit was fatally shot on January 19, 1982, by the wife of a man who had been sent to prison after Berry had successfully prosecuted him; (2) Victor C. Breen, District Attorney of New Mexico’s 10th Judicial District, was shot on December 1, 1971, while getting into his car to drive to his office by an insane assailant who was never brought to justice; (3) R. Fred Capps, Commonwealth’s Attorney in Kentucky’s 40th Judicial Circuit died on June 5, 2000, defending his home and family after a defendant broke into the Capps residence and shot him; (4) Floyd G. Hoard, District Attorney of Georgia’s Piedmont Judicial Circuit, died on August 7, 1967, when he turned the ignition key in his car that detonated six to 12 sticks of dynamite connected to the car’s electrical system; (5) C. Chris Marshall, Assistant District Attorney of Tarrant County, Texas, on July 1, 1992, was shot to death in a courtroom; (6) Paul R. McLaughlin, an Assistant Attorney General detailed to the Suffolk County (Boston) District Attorney’s Office, on September 25, 1995, was walking to his car when he was shot to death by a hooded assailant; and (7) Michael C. Messer, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois, on August 20, 2001, died after he and a colleague were shot during a robbery attempt while returning from dinner to the NAC for a conference he was attending.
According to a recent survey by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, 41% of prosecutors’ offices reported a work-related threat or assault against a staff member. About a third of chief prosecutors and a quarter of assistant prosecutors nationwide experience a work-related threat or assault.
It is our sincere hope that this Memorial will be a shining tribute to those died while championing the justice they so cherished.
CONTACT: Velva M. Walter
Director, Media Relations, NDAA
703-519-1689 – Email: velva.walter@ndaa-apri.org
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