Published: April 26, 2009 09:53 pm      

Trail shooting survivors to share story at crime victim’s rights event

TAZEWELL, Va. — Two Tazewell County men who managed to survive an attack by a gun wielding convicted murderer, will serve as keynote speakers at the National Crime Victim’s Rights Ceremony hosted by the Tazewell County Victim/Witness Assistance Program at 6:30 p.m., on April 28, at Tazewell Middle School.

Scott Johnston of Bluefield, Va., and Sean Farmer of Springville, Va., both 33, miraculously survived an attack by a convicted killer, Randall Lee Smith, 54, of Pearisburg, Va., on May 6, 2008. Law enforcement officers caught Smith shortly after he shot Johnston and Farmer, and wrecked Johnston’s pickup truck during his get-away attempt. Smith, who pleaded guilty in 1984, to killing two Appalachian Trail hikers in 1981, died in custody five days after shooting Farmer and Johnston.

“We thought that Scott and Sean could tell that would be meaningful to everyone,” Linda Cooley, director of the Tazewell County, Va., Victim/Witness Assistance Program said. “I helped Scott with some of his paperwork and got to know him through that. When I asked if he and Sean would agree to be our speakers, he contacted Sean and they agreed.

“We thought that Scott and Sean’s story would help make the evening memorable,” Cooley said. “Of course, we have announced the ‘Officer of the Year’ at that event for the past several years, and that has always been a highlight of our program. We have several good people who work hard to help others. This program recognizes that kind of service.” She said that everyone is welcome to attend the event.

Johnston said he was surprised and somewhat humbled by the request to speak. “I’m not a public speaker and neither is Sean,” Johnston said. “I was a little relieved when Linda said we would only have to speak about 10 minutes each. I think we can handle that.”

Sunday marked the beginning of National Crime Victim’s Rights week. The theme this year is “25 years of Rebuilding Lives: Celebrating the Victims of Crime Act.” Cooley explained that President Ronald Reagan established a task force on victims of crime to look into the treatment of victims by the justice department. Based on the recommendations of the task force, Congress passed the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) in 1984, and funded it through penalties criminals pay. In a quarter century, the fund grew from $68 million to more than $2 billion now.

“Our program started in 1987,” Cooley said. “We were one of the first in the region. We wear many hats in our department.” In addition to helping victims with VOCA paperwork, Cooley, Teresa Layne and Leah Lambert assist victims to get through trials and serve as a resource to help victims understand the system and help them step-by-step. “Our case load is diverse.”

Tazewell County is not alone in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Victims of Crime Act. Nissa Kahle, Victims Service Coordinator of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office said that several agencies that work to assist crime victims will have informational booths at the Mercer Mall starting today, and continuing through Wednesday, April 29.

Kahle said that the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office will be joined by Child Protect of Mercer County, SAFE, the Children’s Home Society, Mercer County, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Child Protective Services, and the West Virginia State Police to increase awareness of the services available to the victims of crime.

– Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com