Victim is not to blame

When did the victim stop being the victim?

Sadly, this question immediately comes to mind after reading Nicole Brodeur’s column titled, “Attorney in school-shooting case is seeking too much.” [NWTuesday, April 10.]

We’ve all followed the tragic news reports about the 9-year-old boy who was convicted of bringing a gun to school in Bremerton, critically wounding 9-year-old Amina Kocer-Bowman.

When Amina went to class that day, she’d done nothing wrong. She went to school to learn in a safe environment. Instead, Amina and her family’s lives have been shattered, and a court-ordered apology by the boy will not change that.

They deserve support for their right to seek accountability and justice through our civil judicial system.

The family’s attorney is correct: This shooting was a preventable tragedy, not an accident. Investigations are ongoing and the information gleaned from the case will determine accountability.

No crime victim should feel that their efforts to demand accountability from a system who failed them are wrong.

Parents should be able to send their children to school without wondering if they will become the next Kocer-Bowman family. And they certainly should not have to fear that their efforts to right a devastating wrong will make them the villains.

— Rebecca Roe, president of Washington State Association for Justice, Seattle