When Marsy’s Law was brought before South Dakota voters as a constitutional amendment in 2016, Henry Nicholas was portrayed as a sympathetic figure.
The California billionaire, who made his fortune as co-founder of technology firm Broadcom, took up the cause of victims’ rights after his sister, Marcy, was shot to death by an ex-boyfriend in 1983. Family members were stunned to encounter the assailant, out on bail, a few days later at a grocery store.
By surrounding his personal story with sky-high political contributions, Nicholas embarked on a crusade of amending state constitutions across the country to expand legal protections for violent crime victims and their families, with a potential end game of changing the U.S. Constitution.
Marsy’s Law for All, his national group, focused on states with citizen-initiated ballot measures, low signature thresholds for petitions and cheap advertising rates, making South Dakota a dream come true.
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