4th annual Victims Matter Rally held at Statehouse

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — The 4th annual “Victims Matter Rally” took place at the Statehouse this morning, with survivors of violent crime and loved ones of those lost to violence in attendance.

The event is hosted by the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network and the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

Nearly 50 people stood on the Statehouse steps — all having faced the trauma of violence and now searching for answers and justice.

Courtney Hunter lost her six-year-old son, Winston, through a drive-by shooting — the teenage shooters mistaking the home for someone else’s.

“Those wounds are so vivid, yet today it affects me. The scream that Winston’s father hollered, ‘Call 911!’ affects me to this day,” she says.

Now Hunter fights for tougher and safer gun laws, so that she and others don’t feel revictimized by the legal system.

“The guns that was used in the murder of my son was high powered guns in the hands of children. All of them was under the age of 20. Why do they have access to those powerful guns?” she asks.

Holly Watkins says her brother Heath was shot in the back by his roommate in 2020 — that man now expected to be released from prison in 2026.

Andreal Montgomery and Lori Williams became friends at a recent victims’ rights conference.

Andreal says she’s still seeks closure after her 35-year-old son Keith was shot and killed in 2023 — with one suspect in prison, another walking free.

“The system has to change. The law has to change. You know you get more time for killing a dog than killing a human. There’s a problem with that. There’s a serious problem with that. And whoever is sitting behind that desk, if they don’t see it, something is wrong,” says Montgomery.

Lori’s brother Lt. Larry Vaughan was murdered in his home in 2021 — the killer given bond and released in 2022.

“And we just keep getting revictimized because the criminals have more rights than we do,” says Williams.

Those affected recalling what they miss about their loved ones…

“I miss Winston’s hugs around my neck,” says Hunter.

“He would always make me laugh. And I don’t have that. And it sounds crazy but I still look for him to walk through that door,” says Montgomery.

“He was funny and he made everything better. Everything better. And he can’t make this better. But I’ll see him again. We’ll see them both again,” says Williams.

To honor her son and other victims of violence, Hunter’s foundation “Through the Eyes of Winston” will hold its 3rd annual “Stop the Gun Violence” parade in the town of North on Saturday, May 10th.