Steve Twist | 2020 National Crime Victims' Service Awards Tribute Video

STEVE TWIST: I was led into the victims' movement by so many compelling stories of injustice.

After I graduated from law school, I went to work for the Navajo Nation. We collaborated on a resolution that passed in 1975 that established the Navajo Nation Victims' Rights Commission. It was the first of its kind anywhere in the country.

We don't have to sit back and accept things the way they've always been. I was called upon ultimately to rewrite the criminal code in Arizona. It became effective in 1978. And we wrote into that criminal code the very first beginnings of some victims' rights statutes. 

I served for 12 years as Chief Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona. I began to work more directly with victims in criminal cases. I got so motivated to once and for all begin a movement for victims' rights in our state.

There is a powerful voice in just one person who has the courage to stand up and be heard. We need lawyers who will stand up in courtrooms representing crime victims and say, "Your Honor, you can't do this." 

We're at a watershed moment in the development of victims' rights. We now have rights written into most of the constitutions of the states. We have judges who've been trained in victims' rights law. I'm inspired by all the victim advocates who work tirelessly in the struggle for justice. 

Stories of great injustice, cases of great injustice, break down silos. They bring people together from diverse disciplines to try to fashion a response that treats people, crime victims, with respect and dignity and compassion and gives them a voice. And I only see hope and good things on the horizon as Americans really do come together to support these changes. The legacy will be a system of justice and fairness.