Families and friends of homicide victims have a special place to come remember their loved ones after the District Attorney’s office and Lauderdale County government unveiled a new Homicide Victim Memorial Garden on Thursday at the Lauderdale County Government Center.

 

District Attorney Kassie Coleman said the garden, which is located in a planter between the Government Center and Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department. is not only a place dedicated to victims of homicide but also an area dedicated to remembering lost loved ones and finding peace.

 

“We know here at the District Attorney’s office that the loss of a loved one is one that does not ever end. It’s something that you as a family live with each and every day, and we recognize that,” she said.

 

The criminal justice system is not set up with victims’ families in mind, Coleman said. The process can be long and difficult, and family members can often be frustrated or feel justice was not done, she said.

 

“We know that the criminal justice system is designed with safeguards for the accused. That is the basis for our criminal justice system,” she said. “And as a result of that, we often hear from our victim’s families that the criminal justice system doesn’t feel very just, and when we come to the end of it, we rarely feel like we’ve gotten justice for our loved ones.”

 

Whether it’s a trial, plea deal, sentencing or other court proceeding, Coleman said the hope for the memorial garden is to give families to have a place to step away from the proceedings and find peace in remembering those they have lost.

 

Supervisor J.J. Anders, who serves as president of the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, said the board is glad to be able to dedicate the space for the memorial garden and give victims’ families a place to come.

 

Thursday’s unveiling, which coincided with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, is just the start, Coleman said, and future plans to expand the garden even further are in development. Ideally, she said, the garden would have a special place where each family could come remember their loved one and continue to feel that connection to them.

 

“We don’t know exactly how that looks in the end, but we are very thankful to our Board of Supervisors for this first step,” she said.

 

Whether it’s to pay a car tag, attend court or some other reason that brings them to the Government center, Coleman said she hopes families will take a moment to visit the memorial garden and know their loved ones have not been forgotten.