Kimberly Ahern

Every day, I have the honor of standing up in Courts in our State and being able to say, “I represent the State of Rhode Island.” For the past six years, I have served as a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Attorney General. For four of those years, I have prosecuted cases in our Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit. I see firsthand the impact that violence in a family can cause – the turmoil, the fear, the anger, the pain (both physical and emotional) and the hardships.

But despite that, I leave work every day proud of what I have accomplished, because I have the privilege to say I work on a daily basis to promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity. Justice is at the heart of what we, as prosecutors, strive to do each and every day. Our rules of professional responsibility tell us we are to be a “minister of justice” and not simply advocate for a side. It is something I take very seriously when assessing each case and deciding what is justice for a particular set of facts.

Justice does not lend itself to easy definition or description. But for me, a large part of “what justice is” is working with survivors of sexual abuse, sexual assault, or family and domestic violence. So many of these individuals have endured unimaginable pain and oftentimes, at the hands of someone they once loved or cared about. I come into their lives at a very difficult moment, and usually that is when they have to take the witness stand to testify against the very person that harmed them. It is one way that allows them to take some control back in a situation where they have lost it, all at the hands of their abuser. It also recognizes their dignity and self-worth, something that is all too often overlooked by their abuser.

When I think back over the cases I have prosecuted and the way in which they promoted justice, I think of meeting with a deceased victim’s family countless times while the case progressed through our criminal justice system. I think back to their embrace of me after they heard the words “guilty” directed toward the man who killed their 20-year-old daughter in a senseless act of violence. I think of the moment they were able to stand up in Court – next to me – and tell the Judge what they think should happen at his sentencing hearing. Nothing I could do would bring back their daughter, but at the end of that day, I went home knowing that I was able to help them find some peace and comfort. At the same time, we were able to bring about some justice for that young woman, who was taken from her family all too soon.