My name is William Croston. I am one of Ruth Naomi Croston's brothers. On April 21, 1998, my sister, Ruthie, and her unborn child were murdered by Reginald Falice. As a result of the murder of Ruthie and her unborn child our family had to go through a trial. The trial was the process of giving Falice his day in court even though Reginald Falice had confessed to the murder of Ruth Croston prior to the trial. One major disappointing aspect of the trail was that Falice was NOT charged with the murder of the unborn child that Ruth Croston was carrying. Under current law we simply choose to dismiss the life of the unborn child. In fact, prior to the beginning of the trial the Honorable Judge Graham C. Mullen indicated that he didn't want the jury to know that Ruth Croston was carrying an unborn child. While I understand that the intent here is to avoid jury sympathy for the victim, the reality is that the current process dismisses the life of the unborn child and the family's suffering associated with a very real loss. The difficulty of accepting the loss of Ruth Croston and her unborn child is greatly enhanced by the fact that the unborn child was the child of Ruth Croston and Reginald Falice. Reginald Falice knowingly murdered Ruth Croston and their unborn child. However, the current law does not consider the unborn child a part of the irresponsible actions committed by Reginald Falice.

Unfortunately the thoughts in the mind of some persons in today's society have reached a point of no respect for the life and rights of others. We need to update today's laws to conform to the reality of the crimes committed in society today. Today's laws ignore and/or dismiss crimes against the unborn child. Example: United States vs. Reginald Falice. We need to update today's out-of-date laws to include consequence for criminals who cause harm to unborn children through an act of violence against the mother. The important factor to consider in the case of United States vs. Reginald Falice, is that Reginald Falice knew that Ruth Croston was carrying his unborn child. Why not bring charges for violence to the unborn child?

In closing, the Committee should understand that our family will forever be in mourning over the loss of Ruth Croston and our unborn niece. Our grief will last a lifetime. The emotional effect of the death of our niece resurfaces each time we hear about another unnecessary act of violence against a pregnant woman. The impact of the irresponsible actions of Reginald Falice will be with me and my family for the rest of our lives. I hope that the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary will find the wisdom to bring the current law up-to-date with the reality of the crime committed in society today. It is imperative that we hold criminals responsible for their acts of violence against pregnant women and their unborn children.