process, including testimony, sentenc-
ing and parole.
"Victims of crime feel left out lots of
the time because they don't really know
the workings of the system," he says.
(Some other Jewish professionals in-
volved with POMC include Attorneys
Julie Nelson, Lawrence Kaluzny and
Henry Baskin.)
State Sen. William Van Regenmorter,
a Jellison Republican, has worked with
POMC to promote victims' rights on the
legislative level.
"I would define victims' rights as com-
prehensive, legally mandated rights for
victims of crime through the criminal
justice process," the senator says.
Prior to the passage of his 1985 Vic-
tim's Crime Rights Act, felony trials
were viewed as matters between the de-
fendant and the state.
"There was absolutely no
recognition of the victim what-
soever," he says.
The Crime Victim's Rights
Act and a 1988 amendment to
the state constitution include
several provisions to bring vic-
tims into the legal picture. Some
of them include:
* A victim's "Miranda" clause:
Within 24 hours of the crime,
law enforcement agencies must
brief victims or victims' families
on their rights to emergency ser-
vices, compensation, etc.
* Law enforcement agencies
must provide a method for vic-
tims or their families to know if
the defendant is released from
custody before trial.
* Victims or their families
have the right to be present at
the trial.
* Victims or their families
have the right to be notified of
conviction, appeals, the defendant's re-
lease on bail pending appeal and the re-
sult of the appeal.
* The system must notify victims or
their families in the event of the crimi-
nal's escape from prison. They have the
right to be notified about the criminal's
earliest projected prison release date,
parole board hearing, decision of parole
board, release, transfer or discharge.
* Victims or their families must be al-
lowed to address the parole board.
"I think the act and the constitution-
al amendment are the most compre-
hensive in the country," Senator Van
Regenmorter says. "They're used as
models by others states. I think Michi-
gan really is on the cutting edge."
POMC has extended its battles be-
yond the courtroom. While it does not
advocate censorship, the group has

launched a nationwide campaign to say:
"As she lay there dying, he raped her,"
Murder Is Not Entertainment!
she says. "How can people play murder
Members contend that murder is a for fun, when it tore my life apart?"
multi-billion entertainment industry en-
couraging society's indifference to hor- What Might Have Been
ror. In effect, it perpetuates the
victimization of victims.
Rose Gold speaks with her daughter
POMC has turned its Murder Is Not and son in-law in San Diego practically
Entertainment (MINE) campaign into every night. The family is selling Todd
an exhibit featuring toys, games, books Loren's comic book business.
and novelties premised on the theme of
The paperwork, they say, is horren-
death and destruction.
dous.
The MINE exhibit is featured at
"It's such a waste. It didn't have to
schools, POMC meetings and other happen," Mrs. Gold says. "He didn't go
venues throughout the country. Ex- to college, but he had the knowledge of
hibitors say it is an attempt to wake peo- a professor. And he was good-hearted."
ple up to reckless
Todd Loren grew up
recreation. Some ex-
in Southfield with the
amples:
Judge Edward So snick and wife,
name Stuart Shapiro.
Trendmasters Inc. Darlene, receive an award from
He started collecting
manufactures a plastic Parents Of Murde red Children.
comic books as a boy.

jack-knife that squirts blood. The Los
Angeles County coroner's office sells
beach towels with chalk outlines of
homicide victims.
And for literary enthusiasts, there's
Bradley Steiner's Death Dealer's Man-
ual, an instructional guide to methods
of murder. Or Kill Without Joy! The
Complete How-To-Kill Book by John
Minnery.
Collectors might get a charge out of
serial killer trading cards. They're all on
the market ...
"If mom and dad can go out for a mur-
der mystery weekend, what kind of mes-
sage are their children going to receive?"
asks Ann Reed, associate director of the
POMC national headquarters in Cincin-
nati.
Ms. Reed's young daughter was mur-
dered in bed by an intruder 14 years ago.

tionwide. This led to a mail order
catalog selling hundreds of rock
`13! roll collectibles. He received fan mail
and requests from teen-agers in
Malaysia, Australia, all over the
world.
Despite his whirlwind teen-age exis-
tence, Stuart didn't forgethis family.
Mrs. Gold remembers her grandson's
high-school graduation — the day he
drove up in cap and gown, jumped out
of his van and presented her with a hug
and a rose (for Rose).
By age 19, Stuart had purchased his
own house in Oak Park. Then, in mid-
1984, he moved to San Diego. On the
West Coast, Stuart changed his name
to Todd. ("I guess I thought it was a re-
bellious thing to do," he wrote. "And I
always liked the name Todd.") Loren
was his middle name.
His parents followed him to
California. In fact, Todd ended
up hiring his father. ("He is my
closest, most-trusted employ-
ee.")
By age 22, Mr. Loren was op-
erating a $1 million-plus mail
order business with 32 employ-
ees. In the late 1980s, he decid-
ed to combine his two loves: rock
`12' roll and comic books.
Revolutionary Comics fea-
tured unauthorized biographies
of heavy-metal stars. The some-
times seamy, always sensa-
tional inside scoops on the music
industry wound up creating big
business. His first edition sold
175,000 copies.
But something went wrong
for the graduate of Southfield
High.
It happened on June 17,
1992.
At Mr. Loren's funeral, Herb
Shapiro recited the words of his son.
They were the words from the intro-
duction to one of the comic books. In it,
Todd tells his readers:
My message here is a simple one. You
can be whatever you want to be, you can
do whatever you want to do, if you be-
lieve in yourself and are determined to
accomplish your goal ...
It's a story which needs to be told, a
message which needs to be heard, espe-
cially by young people.
And that's why I enjoy doing what I
do so much.
Peace. ❑ SEE PAGE 60
LU

At 16, he was attending so many com-
ic-book conventions that his father,
Herb, recommended he sponsor one
himself
"I rented a hall for him and he went
to work getting his friends and mother
to drive him all over town so that he
could place fliers, which he created, in
every comic-book store, drug store or
other venue that he thought appropri-
ate," Mr. Shapiro remembers.
In 1976, the precocious teen-ager
tossed his first comic-book extravagan-
za with great success. He paid his dad
back $200 for the hall rental, and
plunged right into planning other con-
ventions.
Todd Loren's killer is still at large.'
"There was no stopping him," his dad Anyone with information about thel
says.
crime is encouraged to call Officer Ron!
Stuart also began sponsoring record Larmour in the San Diego Homicide
symposiums, which proliferated na- :Division #2: (619) 531-2298.

CY,

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2

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LU

59

