Miami-Dade state attorney on seeking justice for victims | Forensic Files

this was a lengthy trial 100 Witnesses 1,200 pieces of evidence how how do you make sure that the the victims are not
forgotten you know one of the things that we really pride ourselves on is the inspiration that we get in the names of
these victims Seeking Justice for them and you're right sometimes the victimization what happens to people and
the way in this case for instance they were tortured and targeted could have been anyone we know and care about and
even when we sit with family members sometimes in the courtroom through this laborious methodical way that we have to
get to the core of what a case was about and explain it in a simple way an understandable way to a jury that will
only hear it once um is very difficult for them they have to really trust us as an office as
advocates as truth Seekers as Justice Seekers that we're going to do that for them and we're going to do it for the
ones that they've lost in terms of of the criminal element What was Maya Emmy like back in 1995 it was probably one of
the worst times for this community because uh I don't know if you remember Time Magazine and others called us
Paradise Lost and a lot of it had to do with our tourist murder robbery rate it was just off the charts and we just kind
of came off the cocing cowboy days of the the late 80s early 90s and uh we just we were just the tourist
destination for a lot of these criminals and I don't know if you remember this but the German and English councils told
all their citizens and their countries do not go to Miami it is the murder Mecca of the world and so we had an
incredible cancellation of flights our hotel occupancy rates you know just our real estate values trunked everybody in
town was talking about how are we going to address our our criminal our crime rate that was increasing and also you
know restore a sense of safety everybody working together police prosecutors the
business Community uh our whole uh tourist industry working together to try to build back the reputation of a safe
Vibrant Community we had to do that so we struggled for uh 3 to five years under that cloud and I like to say now
we're Paradise found I was surprised that your office has such a unique uh relationship with the Homicide Bureau
your ASAS meet detectives at the crime scenes at every time we do it for all police shootings for all homicides some
of our sex batteries but with the homicide DET it's really so valuable because you're all on the scene at the
same time you see where the body was you can see where so and so was standing there's Witnesses on the streets maybe
their Witnesses looking out their windows and apartment buildings you know you're Gathering the evidence together
taking fresh statements they're making those decisions together you know as good as the police are and as good as
prosecutors are together they're even a better team because you got everything working all the heads and all the
intelligence gathering you know the knowledge of the law all working together

Katherine Fernandez Rundle talks to "48 Hour" correspondent Troy Roberts about the importance of getting justice for the victims of the Sun Gym gang and the difficult time Miami faced during the early 1990s.

Brief Summary

The episode discusses justice challenges in Miami's crime history and prosecutor-detective collaboration during trials.

Key points

The Lengthy Trial. A trial with 100 witnesses and 1,200 pieces of evidence.
From Paradise Lost to Found. Miami's transformation from a crime-ridden city to a vibrant community.

Episode highlights

From Paradise Lost to FoundMiami's transformation from a crime-ridden city to a vibrant community.“Now we're Paradise found.”2:26Feb 23, 2014

Episode quotes

We pride ourselves on seeking justice for the victims.

Discussing the commitment to victims' rights.

0:08WatchFeb 23, 2014

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