The Homicide Victims’ Families Rights Act, a bipartisan bill that gives families of homicide victims in federal cases more rights, passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday with a vote of 406-20 and is now headed to the Senate for consideration.
Under the bill, immediate family members of a homicide victim in a federal case are given the right to request a review of the case file if the murder was committed over three years ago, investigative leads have been exhausted, and a likely perpetrator has not been identified.
“When homicides go unsolved, the pain is compounded and can be unbearable for families,” Kirschner stated. “This bill gives those families not just a voice but a legal right to request a review or full reinvestigation of the homicide of their loved one. Victims and their families deserve precisely the kind of right this bill delivers.”
Further, if a cold…
