Vigil honors murdered loved ones

About 50 people participated despite a steady rain.
By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
WARREN -- For Mike Pratt, participation in the Day of Remembrance offers an opportunity to honor his slain brother and gather with other people whose loved ones have been murdered.
The occasion was a Monday evening ceremony attended by about 50 people at the log cabin on Courthouse Square, which was part of an annual national observance. The Day of Remembrance is observed each Sept. 25.
"I come to all of the events that the chapter holds in memory of my brother," Pratt said, referring to the Trumbull Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children. Pratt, of Warren, carried a framed photo of his brother, Roger, who was murdered in Hudson in 1988.
"You get to gather with other people who also feel the same way you do and share the same loss that you do for the loss of their loved ones to murder," said Pratt, who wore a cap bearing a button with a red line through the word parole.
Opposes parole
Pratt opposes parole for Michael Swiger, who is serving his sentence in the Trumbull Correctional Institution for his role in the slaying. A parole hearing was Sept. 11, and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority is expected to decide in the next four to six weeks whether Swiger should be released from prison. The authority denied parole for Swiger last year.
"His sentence was 21 to 53 years, and I feel that 14 years is not long enough for him to serve in prison for his involvement in this murder, and we would like to see him serve at least the minimum of his sentence, which is 21 years," Pratt said.
During Monday's observance, the group, consisting of members of the Trumbull County and Sharon chapters of Parents of Murdered Children, walked from the log cabin to a flagpole in front of the Trumbull County Adult Justice Center.
At the flagpole, which bears the POMC remembrance flag just below the American flag, they huddled under umbrellas in the rain, and heard a prayer from the Rev. Pete Cozart of Farrell, a local POMC leader.
Sending messages
After the prayer, they released black and red balloons, many of them with remembrance messages for their deceased family members. The rain prevented many, but not all, of the balloons from going aloft. The group then returned to the log cabin for a candlelight vigil.
"It gives all of the victims' survivors a chance to remember their loved ones specifically, and to get together with other people who have had the same losses. It helps them know that we remember -- that everybody remembers," said Miriam Fife of Warren, whose 12-year-old son, Raymond, was murdered in 1985. A POMC board member, she serves as a crime victims' advocate in the Trumbull County prosecutor's office.