Draft:Frank Carrington, Jr.

Frank Gamble Carrington, Jr. (May 11, 1936 - January 2, 1992) was an American lawyer and activist. Carrington founded the Crime Victims’ Legal Advocacy Institute, later renamed to Victims’ Assistance Legal Organization (VALOR), which promoted the advancement of rights for crime victims. In 1981, Carrington was appointed by Attorney General William French Smith to serve on the Task Force of Violent Crime. Carrington would also serve on President Ronald Reagan's Task Force on Victims of Crime in 1982.

Carrington died in a fire at his home in Virginia Beach on January 2nd, 1992.

Early Life and Education
Carrington was born in Paris, France on May 11th, 1936 to Frank G. Carrington, Sr. and his wife Edith Rule Carrington. After graduating from Hampden-Sydney College, he served in the United States Marine Corps as a criminal investigator until 1963. In 1960, during his time in the Marine Corps, Carrington earned his law degree from the University of Michigan. He earned his degree in criminal law from Northwestern University in 1970.

Career
Carrington was admitted to several state bars, United States Circuit Courts, and the Supreme Court. As a lawyer, Carrington filled numerous amicus curiae briefs with the Supreme Court for crime victims' organizations such as Security on Campus.

California
Carrington served on then California Attorney General, and future California Governor, George Deukmejian's Citizens' Advisory Commission on Victims of Crime from 1980 to 1981. Carrington also aided in the creation of Proposition 8, also referred to as the Victims' Bill of Rights from 1981-1982

Work with the Reagan Administration
Appointed to the Department of Justice's Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime in 1981, Carrington worked with figures such as former Attorney General Griffin B. Bell and former Governor of Illinois James R. Thompson to create a report of recommendations on how the government could better combat violent crime without taking attention away from white collar crime and organized crime. These recommendations included, among other things, the use of the United States Navy to monitor sea and air drug trafficking, classifying semi-automatic rifles that can be easily converted to fully automatic rifles as Title II weapons, $2 billion over four years to the states to build correctional facilities, and establishing Federal Standards for the Fair Treatment of Victims of Serious Crimes.

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan created a similar task force to create a report of recommendations to help fight crime. Among the task force was Reverend Pat Robertson. Notable results of the task force include the passage of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, the creation of the Office for Victims of Crime, and expanding crime victim services. The task force also proposed a constitutional amendment, which would alter the text of the Sixth Amendment to include: "Likewise, the victim, in every criminal prosecution shall have the right to be present and to be heard at all critical stages of judicial proceedings"

Legacy
Frank Carrington played a large part in the United States' Victims' rights reforms in the 1980s. He is often regarded as a "Foudning Father of the crime victims' rights movement in America". One month after his death, South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond gave a speech in honor of Carrington in front of the senate. Thurmond said of him: "Frank Carrington was an outstanding man in every way. His charming personality and sense of humor endeared him to his many friends and acquaintances, and he was a loving and devoted husband and father. He was also a formidable champion on behalf of victims of crime, and all those who worked with him in pursuit of his goals respected and admired him." Representative Bill Goodling of Pennsylvania also paid tribute to Carrington the day after his death. Goodling credits Carrington for helping to create the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act. . Similarly, Representative Jim Ramstad credited Carrington with helping to create the Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights Act. Carrington was awarded the National Crime Victim Service Award by President George H.W. Bush in 1991.