By: Briana Persley
In October, Mrs. Turner, PLD Lamplighter advisor, was approached by students who most recently were affected by the death of loved ones, due to violence in our community. They wanted to hold an annual event for peace and unity in Lexington. If you know Wendy Turner, she was going to give her students a voice.
She knew I was a Crime Victims’ Advocate at the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and asked for me to sit in on a meeting and review some correspondence she had with other department heads at PLD. I was amazed at the maturity of the teens that were developing this rally.
They expressed how they may not always feel comfortable with going to teachers, parents, and other adults to talk about their problems, and would turn to “the streets” for help. That is where a resource fair came into play. Teens need to know what agencies are out there that they can go to for the help they need.
I had the honor of being asked to assist with helping bring together agencies that are geared towards educating teens and arranging speakers to send powerful messages. We had over 20 booths set up, some were even teen lead clubs at PLD!
Inside the auditorium, students heard from Anita Franklin, who lost her son, Antonio Franklin, to gun violence, in April 2014 at Duncan Park.
Gerald “Geo” Gibson, spoke to them about serving time in prison for drug and gun offenses before changing his life and creating O.M.A.C. (Opportunity Making A Change), a mentoring program that focuses on teaching boys in elementary and middle schools respect and self-confidence.
Sergeant Day, with Fayette County Public School’s Law Enforcement Division, spoke about S.T.O.P. (Safety Tiplein, Online Prevention) on the school’s website and how they can report things anonymously. Sergeant Berry, with the Lexington Police Department, spoke about Text-A-Tip, that is available to report crimes anonymously. All speakers had strong messages of empowerment for the audience and how they can be effective in changing our community.
I was happy to represent our office during this event and hope to do the same next year!
My name is Nell Kirkland and I am a senior at Henry Clay High School. I am a part of the EBCE program there and have spent the last couple weeks at the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. From my time at the Attorney’s office I have been exposed to different aspects of the criminal justice system, including contacting victims and sitting inside a courtroom to observe a trial.
I am fortunate enough to be able to work with Mrs. Briana Persley, who has taught me the process she goes through when working through a case as a victims advocate. She has taught me to enter information involving the contact with victims and the actions of the defendant so that she can keep track of the status of a defendant and inform the victim of any new updates. Along with office work, I have been able to observe court hearings and arraignments, including a competency hearing. The competency hearing was especially interesting, because I was able to listen on a conference call with a doctor who evaluated the defendant. He listed his
education and experience and discussed the results of his evaluation of the defendant and determined that the defendant in fact was competent enough to stand trial. It was intriguing to see the results of the hearing and see that he will stand trial later on and I hope to be able to observe occurrences like this in the future.
My name is Ireland Coiner and I am a senior this year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. This is week three of my rotation at the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and I’ve already learned so much from Mrs. Briana Persley. Before I came here, I thought that I had a good idea of how our court system functions. Now, I realize that I had little idea of what the system is like. Contacting victims, visiting court, and shadowing Mrs. Persley has taught me many new things about law and the court system.
Observing court has been my favorite part of my rotation. The first thing that I learned was the difference between District and Circuit Courts. District Courts are the lower courts for misdemeanors while Circuit Courts are for felonies. I have attended arraignments and a competency hearing. The court system is much more complicated than what most people think. Sentencing can be very complicated and time consuming.
Contacting victims is my other favorite part of my rotation. I think that it is amazing to be able to reach out to these people and help them. I have helped Mrs. Persley send emails and call victims. Understanding each case and updating the victim on what is happening is a very rewarding experience. I now have an understanding of what it is like to be a victim’s advocate and it is a career that I can see myself pursuing in the future. Overall, I have already had a great experience here at Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.
Hi, I am Jack Sheroan, a Senior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Starting off at the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office I didn’t know much about law and wasn’t really considering it for a career field I might want to later explore. My first day at the office was filled with confusing terms and fast paced introductions. Since then Mrs. Persley has really helped me understand what is going on, and I really enjoy watching court and meeting different attorneys.
Everyone at Commonwealth Attorney’s Office has been welcoming, and willing to help me learn and enjoy this internship. I am very interested in hearing the cases presented during the meetings, and listening in on victims phone calls. I am also very excited to get to interview someone in the field of law, giving me a better understanding of the personal aspects of the job. I would be very interested in learning more about business law. One thing that really makes me enjoy law and the people who work in this office, is that they all have the sense that they are helping people, and doing good for our community. This is something I hope to feel in whatever career I choose.
While law may have been intimidating at first, I have really enjoyed my first few weeks at Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, and am eager to learn more.
To learn more about the Children’s Advocacy Center, please visit: http://kykids.org/
Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Lou Anna Red Corn, along with Fire Chief Kristin Chilton, Police Chief Mark Barnard, and Assistant Public Advocate Daniel Whitley, participate in the recent Leadership Lexington session on Public Safety: Challenges in Public Safety for our Community Panel Discussion. The discussion was moderated by retired Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Larson. Leadership Lexington is a program of Commerce Lexington designed to educate and develop future leaders of Lexington.
