Michigan law already lets statements domestic violence survivors give outside of court to count as evidence in a trial.
Democratic state Senator Rosemary Bayer says that allows survivors to participate in a trial without having to see their perpetrator face-to-face.
“In trafficking and prosecution, we have the opposite problem. The hearings fail. The trafficker goes free. And the detectives arrest them again.”
The bill package would extend the hearsay evidence exception to human trafficking survivors… and give them immunity for crimes they may admit to during testimony.
The package passed with unanimous support. It now heads to the state House.
