VINE Historical Perspective

 On the evening of December 6, 1993, Mary Byron sat in her car in the parking lot of a Louisville Mall.  It was her 21 birthday and Mary was leaving her job at the salon to head home.  As she sat there waiting for her car to warm up, her former boyfriend approached the driver’s side door and fired 7 shots, at point blank range, into Mary’s head and chest.

Unfortunately, Mary had no idea she was in danger.  She thought her former boyfriend was still in jail on charges of raping, assaulting, and stalking her earlier that year.  Because of the nature of the charges, Mary’s family had asked jail staff to notify them if he was going to be released.  That call never happened, therefore Mary and her family had no knowledge of his release, until it was too late.

Due to the persistence and determination of Mary’s parents and the community, a system was designed with the intention of never letting this type of tragic incident happen again.  That system was called V.I.N.E.  (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) and it was implemented in Jefferson County exactly one year after Mary’s death.

In February 1996, the Kentucky Department of Corrections implemented the first ever statewide victim notification system.  This system now includes data from county jails, prisons, mental health facilities and juvenile detention centers.  VINE is managed by the Office of Victim Services.

Mary Byron Foundation
10401 Linn Station Road
Louisville, Kentucky 40223-3842
Toll free: (866) 264-6684
Fax: (502) 212-0868

For more information visit the Mary Byron Foundation  website.