Pat Tuthill

Pat Tuthill lost her 23-year old daughter, Peyton, on February 24, 1999. Peyton, who was attending graduate school in Colorado, was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered by a convicted criminal who, as an unsupervised probationer, was sent by the releasing judge from Maryland to Colorado for drug treatment. Colorado officials were not notified of the relocation. Shortly after her daughter’s murder, Ms. Tuthill began advocating for crime victims of unsupervised offenders. 

Thirteen months later, she left her career and became a full-time legislative activist, public speaker, and advocate for victims’ issues and public policy. Ms. Tuthill traveled throughout the country to lobby full-time to convince legislators and policymakers in each state to support new legislation for monitoring and supervising parolees and probationers who move across state lines. 

In 2005, her mission was accomplished when she attended her last bill signing ceremony when Massachusetts became the 50th state to enact Interstate Compact Adult Offender Supervision. In August 2013, her mission and dream became a reality with the implementation of the first National Automated Standardized Victim Notification System that links all states together and ensures all victims and their families, no matter which state the victim and offender reside in, are notified of all significant events to make sure they can implement a safety plan. 

The new nationwide system is directly linked to the Interstate Compact Offender Tracking System and ensures victims of crime will be notified of several events involving their offender: request to transfer; request approval; departure from the sending state; arrival in the receiving state; any violations of conditions of supervision; change of address; return to the sending state; and case closure. 

In an effort to support families that have suffered the loss of a loved one, not only emotionally but financially, Ms. Tuthill founded the Peyton Tuthill Foundation “Hearts of Hope Scholarships” in 2005. The Foundation awards college scholarships to children who have been left behind by homicide, assists survivors and victims in navigating the criminal justice system to ensure their rights are protected, and promotes public safety. The Foundation has awarded $30,000 in scholarships to date.