Denise Gordon's Page

Denise Gordon Fights for Nearly 10 Years to get Law on the Books
In most states, killers who are convicted for the death of their spouse are able to profit from their murder. Even if convicted of the crime, murderers are legally entitled to the assets of the marriage, including property, monies, children's trust funds, 401(k)s, and insurance policies. Convicted murderers don't even lose parental rights, even if they murder their spouse or partner in front of the children.

House Bill 5136, 'An Act Relative to the Descent and Distribution of Property' was signed nto law last week by Governor Jane Swift. Now any individual charged or convicted of homicide or intentional manslaughter is prevented from inheriting property, money, or assets from the estate of his or her victim. The new law will also lock out murderers from administering the wills of their victims.

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What Denise Gordon has accomplished is of National importance
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.. Hopefully the efforts of Denise Gordon will bring about change in other states as this loophole is closed. Gordan had this to say after hearing of legislative passage:
"It is fitting that this bill will become law on the ninth anniversary of my sister's death, so that her death will have had some positive meaning," "Too many families have suffered the way I have, the way my poor nephew had to witness this brutal event, and live with the memory everyday. In too many cases, the murderer can deny the victim's family the right to bury their loved one or access to the estate."


New England Cable News footage »


"This Bill should be made into national law..." says Mass. Rep. Joseph Sullivan


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.. Massachusetts Legislative Aid Sandra Marchione worked tirelessly with Gordon to draft the legislation, and then took it to Representative, Joseph C. Sullivan (D), who immediately recognized the importance of the proposed law, that would protect the rights of victims and their children when a spouse or mate takes their life.
Sullivan sponsored H 5136 and fought for approval. On Thursday, December 19th, House Bill 5136 was approved and late last week the Bill was signed into law by Governor Jane Swift.

Representative Sullivan had this to say at a recent news conference:

"This is a national issue, but over the past few years Massachusetts has seen a number of high-profile cases, such as the Dirk Greineder and Richard Sharpe convictions, in which a spouse or partner has been murdered and the murderers have exploited their rights to the estate and to parental custody," said Rep. Sullivan. "Whether the murderer has been charged or after being convicted of killing their spouse or partner, this law will protect the families, protect children's assets so that monies intended for them are not used by accused murderers to pay for their defense counsel, which happened last year, and so that the children's fates are not decided by one parent who has killed the other."


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END OF CONDITIONAL HTML HIDING --> Denise Gordon, Sandra Marchione & Rep. Joseph Sullivan are available for comment or interview.


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Contact information is as follows:
Denise Gordon: 781.885.2000

Sandra Marchione (legislative aid who drafted legislation): 617.722.2460

Rep. Joseph Sullivan: 617.722.2460