HAMPTON ROADS, Va. — Witnesses can be terrified to take the stand.
The Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi says witnesses are constantly worried about repercussions or retaliation when coming forward.
Some may think there is special protection for those who testify like they see in the movies but that’s often not the case.
Fatehi and others believe more should be done to protect victims.
Asia Cowell was a 17-year-old from Norfolk who had a bright future ahead of her.
“If I had to summarize her in one word it would just be light in so many ways,” said Tatina Cowell, Asia’s aunt who she was extremely close to. “She was funny. She was goofy and protective. She was creative.”
Asia Cowell was set to testify against her ex-boyfriend who was accused of raping her.
“She just wanted to get the court situation over with,” said Tatina Cowell.
But she was killed before she could take the stand to testify.
Police believe the alleged rapist’s family members are responsible for Cowell’s death.
Court records state that she was lured, held at gunpoint then shot. Authorities believe it was all to prevent her from testifying in court.
“I feel like my niece got punished twice for someone else’s crime against her,” said Asia Cowell.
Witnesses play a key role in bringing criminals to justice, but they also subject themselves to risk by taking the stand.
Fatehi said witness intimidation is real and it happens.
Years ago, a Victim and Witness Protection Program was created in Virginia, but Fatehi said the program is not active.
“Virginia has a witness protection program on paper. It was created in the 1990s. Nobody has ever funded it, ever,” said Fatehi.
But he said he wants that changed.
On a federal level, the U.S. Marshals Service provides witness protection usually in certain cases.
But for witnesses taking the stand in the state of Virginia, it is not the same process.
“The police can offer extra patrols but that’s basically it and when the patrols go, so does the protection,” said Fatehi.
He said it’s a constant concern from witnesses who need to testify.
“Questions that I’ve gotten over the years are, ‘what can you and your office and the police do to keep us safe?’ And the answer unfortunately is that our resources are extremely limited,” said Fathi.
In Virginia, there's a Victim and Witness Grant Program but this provides support services after something happens and there are no preventative security measures associated with it.
Plus the localities need to apply for those services so it is not guaranteed.
Leaders say it can be confusing to some who may think that.
“It breaks my heart. When the witness says, ‘what can you offer me?’ My answer is I can’t move you, I can’t put you in a hotel room, I can’t take you out of town, I can’t do all the things you see in the movies. I have nothing to offer you, other than we’ll try to keep an eye out,” said Fatehi.
He said funding for the program is the biggest hurdle.
Efforts to put 10 million dollars towards a state witness protection program got voted down in the last session by state lawmakers.
“What’s the point of having a program that doesn’t have money to be used that doesn’t make sense to me,” said Tatina Cowell, “The system is failing the witnesses. They’re failing families.”
Tatina Cowell is expected to testify in court in an attempt to bring her niece’s killer to justice.
“I took the steps to relocate myself for safety reasons,” said Tatina Cowell. She said given what has happened she didn’t want to take any chances.
It was a financial burden that a witness protection program could bear if it had funding.
“There are all sorts of possibilities, but the possibilities are just that until the money is there,” said Fatehi.
Fatehi said money in the state victim and witness protection program could go towards relocation, security cameras, or other technology that could keep witnesses safe.
“I am trying to do this the right and legal way, but the right and legal way is not protecting me. That doesn’t make sense, so something does have to change,” said Tatina Cowell.
The case against Asia Cowell’s accused rapist was nolle prosequi in Norfolk court after her body was discovered. This means the case was dismissed but charges could be brought back at a later time.
