The recent sentencing of Jerry D. McClain for the torture and murder of Kiva Friedman has once again brought to the forefront a gaping hole in our criminal justice system. The crimes committed against Kiva Friedman by McClain are in and of themselves horrific and abominable, but the circumstances surrounding her death are made even more tragic by the fact that three witnesses failed to call police or paramedics. Kiva Friedman was alive and conscious, although badly injured, when two of McClain's friends and his brother stopped by Friedman's house at the request of Jerry McClain. They saw her, saw the extent of her injuries and did nothing to help her or save her life. It was not until three hours after the three men left and the victim was dead that Jerry McClain called police and summoned help. Three hours in which her life could have been saved. Three hours in which she instead continued to suffer and her life continued to slip away.

Jerry McClain will spend the rest of his life in prison, and rightfully so, but those three men who had the opportunity to perhaps save Kiva Friedman's life and instead turned their back on her were not charged with any crime. In Alaska, there is no mandate to call police or to render aid. While it is not the position of the State to legislate morality, under certain circumstances, such as in the case of Kiva Friedman, there should be criminal liability for those that do not either report or aid a victim of a violent crime.

This case has continued to incite outrage not only for her murder, but for the inaction of the three men who chose to let her die. Public outcry has spurred me to pre-file legislation to address this issue. During the twenty-first Alaska Legislature, then Representative Dyson (R-Eagle River) introduced a bill relating to the crime of failure to report the commission or attempted commission of certain crimes against children. This legislation succeeded in making it a class A misdemeanor offense if a person, other than the victim, commits the crime of failure to report in a timely manner a violent crime or an attempted violent crime including murder, kidnapping, rape and assault. It is my intention to take this legislation a step further to include violent crimes against adults as well as children under Alaska Statute 11.56.765(a). My legislation would preserve the defensible presumption that a report may have not have been made by a witness out of fear of physical injury to themselves.

In other states around the country there are a wide range of mandatory reporting laws. This bill will be introduced in the same vein as the recent material witness legislation that I sponsored during the last special session. As this new bill is being drafted, I look to Alaskans to provide input and give me feedback on how they would like to see this legislation framed. It is my opinion, that while it is true we live in a free society, we are privileged to reside in our community and the great State of Alaska. With this privilege comes civic responsibility, one of which is the basic responsibility of helping a victim of a violent crime by reporting it.

Kiva Friedman died a terrible death. Her brutal murder has opened my eyes and compelled me to improve our laws. We are too late to save Kiva Friedman's life, but it is not too late to perhaps save another. This legislation will ensure that her murder will not have been in vain, and her legacy will not be just as a victim, but an inspiration to change Alaska for the better.

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