Marcella Leach

❧

Wikipedia

Marcella Leach
Born
Marcella Martin

(1929-08-23)August 23, 1929
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedMarch 15, 2015(2015-03-15) (aged 85)
Orange, California, U.S.
OccupationsActivist, advocate
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1967; died 2008)​
Children2
Websitehttp://www.justiceforhomicidevictims.net
http://www.marsyslawforall.org

Marcella Leach (née Martin; formerly Nicholas; August 23, 1929 – March 15, 2015) was an American victims' rights advocate based in Southern California and the mother of businessman Henry Nicholas.[1] After the murder of her daughter, Marsalee (Marsy) Nicholas in 1983, she helped build Justice for Homicide Victims, one of California's early victims' rights organizations.[2] Her late daughter is the namesake for Marsy's Law, the California Constitutional Amendment and Victims' Bill of Rights, which appeared on the November, 2008, ballot as Proposition 9.[3]

Victims' rights advocacy

On November 30, 1983, Leach's daughter, Marsalee Ann "Marsy" Nicholas, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Kerry Michael Conley.[4] Marsy, then 21, was a senior at UC Santa Barbara and had come home to Point Dume for Thanksgiving[5] when Conley, with whom she had broken up, shot her. Conley was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 17 years to life in prison, where he died in 2007.[6][7] In the nearly two-year interim between the murder and the trial, Conley remained free on bail, and was frequently seen around the neighborhood where Marcella Leach and her husband Bob Leach, still lived.[2]

Ellen Griffin Dunne, the mother of actress Dominique Dunne, who had been strangled to death by a former boyfriend a year earlier, comforted Leach and her family.[8] When Dunne decided in late 1983 to create a local support organization for the survivors of homicide victims,[9] the Leaches were among the founding members, along with Marcella Leach's son Henry Nicholas.[10][2] The California Center for Family Survivors of Homicide was formed as a nonprofit, with a subgroup, Justice for Homicide Victims, as its public face.[11]

Marcella and her second husband, Bob Leach, a journalist and Hollywood screenwriter, and her family assumed leadership of Justice for Homicide Victims in 1990 after Dunne moved to Arizona;[12] Bob Leach served for many years as the president of Justice for Homicide Victims,[10] and Marcella Leach was its longtime executive director. During the 1990s, the organization campaigned for improved law enforcement and longer penalties for convicted felons, including California's Three Strikes Law.[13] By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Marcella Leach was executive director of the group, which had 10,000 members.[13]

The organization grew and was refocused as an educational non-profit.[14] In 2008, Leach was a signatory of the Marsy's Law ballot initiative,[15] which was led and sponsored by her son Henry Nicholas.[16][17] The constitutional amendment was enacted by voters in November 2008 and became law.[18][19]

In addition to awards from three governors, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Marcella and Bob Leach were honored by the National Office of Victims of Crime, and two United States presidents.[5] In 2005, Marcella Leach was awarded the National Crime Victim Service Award from the U.S. Department of Justice.[2]

She died on March 16, 2015, aged 85, of Alzheimer's disease at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California.[20][21]

References

  1. ↑ Nicholas, Henry (May 3, 2009). "Marsy's Law should be every American's right". The Orange County Register. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Justice For Homicide Victims". Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  3. ↑ About Marsy's Law – Marsy's Law
  4. ↑ "Man sentenced in slaying of ex-girlfriend". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 1985. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  5. 1 2 "Update on Proposition 9 : LA Criminal Defense Blog". Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  6. ↑ Los Angeles Times
  7. ↑ Greene, Robert (June 11, 2008). "The two Henry T. Nicholases". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ Nelson, Valerie (April 23, 2008). "Screenwriter and advocate for the rights of victims". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ Arnold, Roxanne (December 3, 1986). "Strangled Actress Did Slayer's Penalty Fit His Crime?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  10. 1 2 Nelson, p1
  11. ↑ "Congressional Record". U.S. Government Printing Office. June 8, 1999. ISBN 9780160730542. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  12. ↑ Simon, Stephanie (July 3, 1996). "Backers of Three Strikes Unflinchingly Defend Law". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  13. 1 2 Simon, pg. 1
  14. ↑ Discover Justice For Homicide Victims
  15. ↑ Mickadeit, Frank (April 21, 2010). "Slain sister gone but not forgotten". Orange Country Register.
  16. ↑ "REASONS FOR a YES VOTE ON PROP 9 Friends of Marsy's Law - California Proposition 9". Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Marriage of convenience". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Victims' Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy's Law | State of California - Department of Justice - Kamala D. Harris Attorney General". Archived from the original on December 8, 2011. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  19. ↑ Thompson, Don (November 5, 2008). "2 California crime initiatives fail at polls, 3rd survives as count continues". Associated Press.
  20. ↑ Obituary, latimes.com. Accessed October 17, 2025.
  21. ↑ Pioneering victims’ rights advocate Marcella Leach dies at age 85, whittierdailynews.com. Accessed October 17, 2025.
  • - Justice for Homicide Victims website
  • - Marsy's Law for All website