Memorial Conference Against

Violence April 23–24

CHESHIRE –– The seventh annual Melanie Ilene Rieger Memorial Conference Against Violence will be held on April 23–24 at the State Department of Correction Maloney Training Facility from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

This year the conference is dedicated to providing support for Connecticut survivors of September 11 and programs to promote child safety. Four Connecticut survivors of 9/11 will tell their stories. The Family & Children’s Agency and the Village For Families and Children will provide counseling throughout the conference.

Maggie and John Bish will speak about programs they have fostered since the abduction of their daughter, Molly. Maureen Kanka, whose daughter Megan’s death led to the enactment of Megan’s Law, will talk about the law past and present. Dorothy Moxley, mother of murder victim Martha Moxley, will join with Chief State’s Attorney Christopher Morano in discussing “Investigating Cold Cases: State vs Skakel.”

The keynote address will be given by John Gillis, director of the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime in Washington, D.C., who will speak on “Putting Victims First.”

Special guests include David Kaczynski, brother of Unibomber Ted Kaczynski, and Gary Wright, one of the Unibomber’s victims, to present a program on “Building Bridges,” ways to bring the families of perpetrators and victims together for healing.

Various perspectives on the death penalty will be explored by former Commissioner of Correction John Armstrong, State’s Attorney John Connolly, Public Defender Ronald Gold, Judge Thomas Miano, and members of the Survivors of Homicide, John Cluny and Toni Bosco of Brookfield.

The conference is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Survivors of Homicide and the Connecticut Department of Correction. The Maloney Training Facility is at 275 Jarvis Street. Registration forms and information are available by contacting Dr Samuel L. Rieger at SRieger243@att.net or 203-756-8080.