Too often, family members who oppose the death penalty are silenced, marginalized, and abandoned, even by the people who are charged with helping them. The victims' rights movement of the late 70s gave rise to victims' rights laws and victim assistance programs, with the goal of enabling victims to be "informed, present, and heard" throughout the criminal justice process. But today, victims' services usually operate under the auspices of the prosecutor, so rights are granted and enforced only at the prosecutor's discretion.

Dignity Denied challenges lawmakers, the federal government's Office of Victims of Crime, and leaders within the victims' services community to address past and current discrimination and commit to equitable treatment of survivors of homicide victims. Specifically, the report recommends that victims' rights laws should be amended to ban discrimination based upon a victim's position on the death penalty; victims' services should be administered independently, not as part of the prosecutor's office; and leaders in the victims' services community should develop protocols for serving victims' families who oppose the death penalty. View the report.