ABSTRACT
Parents who have survived their child's murder are forced to carry a burden that no human should ever be expected to carry. Most of the time they carry this burden with dignity. The parents are decent people who do not believe that violence can be rectified with violence. Rather than debase themselves by breaking the law, they choose to change the law. They "dig in their heels" and begin the painful process of reconstructing their lives. They fight to overcome their grief, and they fight for survival using weapons that are unique to them. Knowing that the parents will never forget their child, these people provide an environment conducive to keeping the child's memory alive. If their hearts tell them to put together a scrapbook of their child's death, they do not think the parents are being morbid. They accept the parents' behaviors as being necessary to their survival.
