As part of National Crime Victims Week, they traveled a 572 mile round trip to the Evins Regional Juvenile Center (ERJC) to speak to the youth.
Their true story recounts how February 7, 1992, was not a typical day for the Snyders. In their hearts they felt something was terribly wrong and how a phone call would in an instant forever change their lives. They recounted how their 30-year-old son Atch (Pronounced “H”) was last seen alive and how he was trying to convince his brother-in-law in Conroe, Texas, to seek medical help for his psychotic bipolar condition. “He was trying to help him; this cost him his life,” Mrs. Snyder said. Atch would always call them letting them know where he was at all times. When this hadn’t happened, they knew something was wrong. “Somehow my heart told me he was dead, and he was,” Emma Joe Snyder said. Atch’s brother-in-law had killed him and placed his bloody body into a return air conditioning vent in his apartment. That day nearly destroyed their lives and marriage. “We were like two zombies passing each other in a time warp. Herbert would never want to talk about it and I was always talking about it,” she said. Shortly after, Mrs. Snyder’s father passed away as the stress of the loss was too much for him. The house was neglected, holes in the roof and life was just upside down for them. Finally, she figured they had to do something to prevent this from happening again. Before long they were traveling the state to sway youths and adults to choose right from wrong and to be aware of how their actions hurt not only the victims, but, other people around them.
Mr. Snyder told the students at the ERJC, “You all are in here because you have chosen to be here by your actions. Some of you are here for petty crimes while others for more serious crimes. Some of you are in here longer then others because you have extended your invitation. You choose to do right or do wrong. In our case, the perpetrator chose to end the life of our son, father, husband, brother, and friend—forever.”
Mr. Snyder said, “You cannot live in this world without affecting other people. Take care of your business in here, or you will wind up right back or in another set of walls.”
In their presentation they showed pictures of their loved ones, recounted his childhood memories: scraped knees, school years, wedding, and birth of Atch’s son and daughter.
As she has done so many times, Emma Snyder ended their presentation by selecting a youth and telling him to write down the name of a loved one on a piece of paper. She then pretended that they tell you right now that your loved one was minding her business buying groceries at a convenience store, when two armed men came in demanding money. When the clerk refused, one of the men shot the clerk and your sister.” She then asked the youth to tear the piece of paper in half. “The clerk died instantly and your sister later died at the hospital. Tear the paper again,” she told the youth. The youth shaking his head uttered “No.” “You don’t want that to happen to your love one right? These are the lives torn apart, destroyed. It’s your choice. See we had none,” she said. The youth were so moved that they each hugged the Snyders and thanked them for sharing their story.
It has taken a long, long time, but in the end the Snyders have forgiven the murderer, and hope that through their personal tragedy and presentations, the loss of a loved one will be avoided.
As soon as the presentation was over, the students were allowed to ask questions and were then debriefed by ERJC caseworkers. Caseworker Martha Garcia, said, “The Victim Impact Panel presentation was great. You can see the youths’ reactions when they hear it from the victims’ perspective; they now realize that not only have they hurt their own families, but many others as well, by their negative choices.”
“It gave me a different point of view–like the victim’s point of view and it wasn’t even their fault.”
-Juan, 18-year old participant
Herbert and Emma Joe Snyder are part of a group of Victim Impact Panelists who travel around the state to Texas Juvenile Justice Department facilities and adult correctional facilities to empower victims and to develop empathy in juvenile and adult offenders. Fidel F. Garcia, Coordinator of Volunteer Services and Victim Impact Panel Coordinator for the Evins Regional Juvenile Center, added that the purpose of integrating victims into the TJJD programs is to provide victims with the opportunity to tell their stories and thereby gain increased control in their lives and to assist youths in changing their attitudes and beliefs towards victims. “Offenders need to show empathy for their victims. They need to know that their actions have a domino affect on many, many people,” he said. Eighteen-year old Juan Tamez, a current student who attended the presentation, said, “It gave me a different point of view—like the victims point of view and it wasn’t even their fault. Because of someone else’s mistake they are going through all of this. It is important that students attend one so that they know how their actions will hurt others.”
For more information on the Evins Regional Juvenile Center or Volunteer Services please call 956-289-5500. The Evins Regional Juvenile Center is a facility of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.