Last weeks Hearing was a truly amazing experience. I am so grateful to so many people….my boyfriend, family & friends, co-workers, RAINN, Human Rights Watch, CBS Evening News, and the private sponsors what have paid for my trips to DC.
I was in DC for roughly 24 hours…but it was definetely a busy 24 hours. I got in around midnight on Wednesday and woke up at 6:00am on Thursday to get ready. The hearing started at 9:00am. When we walked into the hearing room is when my nerves really kicked in. It was so busy I didn’t have much time to really dwell on them though. Chairman Scott started off with an introduction and explanation of why we were their. Then the first panel started with their testimonies. The first panel consisted of several Representatives including Congresswoman Maloney and Congressman Weiner. There weren’t any questions for the 1st panel so we moved on to the 2nd panel.
The 2nd panel included myself, a Prosecutor and former Judge, Mariska, a representative from the FBI, and someone from a private lab. I was the 2nd to give their testimony. I thought I did pretty well…although I did go longer than my 5 minutes. There were a few questions after the 2nd panel. It was during this questioning that was probably the most rememberable for me.
I have now been advocating since back in October….and this entire time I have made peace that I would probably never see justice for my case since the Prosecutor Attorneys office had made that very clear. I was OK with this; because I knew although I may never see justice I was hopefully helping many other woman get the justice they deserve. I NOW have renewed HOPE!!! Representative Weiner was clearly irate after listening to my testimony. He couldn’t believe how my case had been handled….as CBS Evening News put it: “He raked the prosecutor over the coals!” They said they would supeona the prosecutor for the Rape Kit and that they personally would come up with the money to pay for it to be tested.
He and the other members were dead serious too. Immediately after the hearing they all wanted to know the name of the prosecutor. Representative Weiner office asked if I could send him my case file ASAP. In a matter of minutes I went from being at peace never seeing justice to having renewed hope that it could happen. It was nerve-recking and to be completely honest a little scary.
After the hearing was a whirlwind. I was being pulled in every direction! The prosecutor who testified wanted my contact information. The Representatives were all introducing themselves and asking questions about my case. I was talking to Congressmen Weiner and his staff about their follow-up statements. Armen from CBS was trying to get some questions for an interview in. Chairman Scott wanted us all to join in the back for a few minutes to talk next steps. Mariska’s husband introduced himself. It was GREAT! I really felt like I helped make a difference.
Once everyone left the Hearing room I grabbed lunch with Human Rights Watch and RAINN. On the way to lunch ABC called to see if I could give a quick interview to go along with their coverage of the hearing. I took a taxi over to their studios and then we did an interview outside of the National Geographic Museum. I was hesitant at first…since I have been working so closely with CBS, however; I figured the more coverage the more awareness we will raise. I also didn’t tell ABC anything that CBS hadn’t already aired.
By the time I got done with ABC it was time to head to the airport. I didn’t get home until after midnight on Thursday….but I had to stay up to watch the CBS and ABC segments before I could go to bed even though I had to wake up at 5:00am for work the next morning 
Here are a few pictures:
