VOCAL – Victims of Crime and Leniency – is a non-profit organization established in 1982 to assist victims of crimes and their families as they travel through a criminal justice system that is foreign tothem and not a road they sought to travel. VOCAL’s founder was Miriam Shehane became involved in the criminal justice system after her daughter, Quenette Shehane, was brutally murdered in Birmingham in 1976. Miriam found that the justice system had no place for victims in it and she took on a lifelong mission to change that for others.

Pictured are Miriam Shehane and Quenette Shehane


In 1976, Miriam learned that victims and their families had no right to be present in the courtroom during hearings or trials. She also found that there was no requirement that victims or their families be contacted about those hearings and trials, or to be contacted for parole hearings for convicted inmates. Miriam organized other survivors to join her efforts to have legislation passed that would
address the rights of crime victims. The Courtroom Attendance Act and the Parole Notification bill were passed in 1983. Due to the efforts of Miriam and VOCAL, the rights of victims or their families to be present and notified are now enshrined in the Alabama Constitution: Ҥ 6.01. Basic rights for crime victims: (a) Crime victims, as defined by law or their lawful representatives, including the next
of kin of homicide victims, are entitled to the right to be informed, to be present, and to be heard when authorized, at all crucial stages of criminal proceedings, to the extent that these rights do not interfere with the constitutional rights of the person accused of committing the crime.”

Today, forty-three years later the mission of VOCAL still represents the hope of the original incorporators. Service, support, and advocacy are provided across Alabama to those affected by violent crime. Some of the programs we offer are:

  • Supportive courtroom and hearing attendance 
  • Liason for victims with criminal justice agencies and personnel
  • Peer Support Groups for Homicide Survivors
  • Alternative video testimony program for Pardon & Parole Hearings 
  • Significant Voices Podcast
  • Crisis Counseling
  • Law Enforcement Training at academies across Alabama
  • Public Awareness Events and Training
  • Events throughout the year to honor those affected by violent crime and commerate the advances in the rights for victims
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