Controversy Over Memorial for Girl Killed Delivering Cookies

Officials in Hillsdale, N.J. are concerned that the text on the memorial, with words like "molested" and "murdered" are too graphic

After nine months of debate, the mayor and council say language planned for a memorial to a slain borough girl is too graphic, to the dismay of the girl's mother, who has worked for decades to help enact child safety laws.
 
Rosemarie D'Alessandro has sought for months to install a statue honoring her daughter, Joan, who was molested and murdered 40 years ago by Joseph McGowan, a neighbor, when she went to his house to deliver Girl Scout cookies.

Since her daughter's death, D'Alessandro has lobbied to enact four state and federal laws to ensure that those who commit such crimes are denied parole.
 
The construction and unveiling of the statue, a large granite rock to be engraved with a butterfly and placed near the borough's train station, has been delayed because of the council's concern about the graphic nature of the original text, which included the words "molested" and "murdered."

Mayor Max Arnowitz and several council members said during a Wednesday night meeting that dozens of borough residents were uncomfortable with the most recent version of the text, The Record reported.
 
Some residents questioned why another memorial for Joan was being considered when there already are three throughout the town. Some people do not want it built near the train station, which is county property.
 
The text, which has been revised several times and approved by the county, a psychologist, the Girl Scouts and the family, adds more details about Joan's personality and emphasizes that the laws passed in her name will "ensure victims' rights."
 
It says that Joan was "lured and her life was taken on Holy Thursday" and that the neighbor was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life.
 
"I think the message that's being put on here becomes, in my opinion, more of a memorial to a crime than to a little girl," Councilman Douglas Frank said. Councilman Frank Pizzella, who has been a liaison between the Joan Angela D'Alessandro Foundation and the council, said the revised language emphasizes Joan's legacy through her mother's work.

"Residents should be proud of what this woman has accomplished," Pizzella said.

D'Alessandro said there were residents from Hillsdale and the surrounding town who approve of the language. She presented a petition with what she said were 293 signatures in support of the text.

D'Alessandro said the statue, which she hopes can now be unveiled in April,  is not about telling the story of a horrific crime but about raising awareness for child safety. Arnowitz said the memorial would be built, but the governing body will review the language again and present changes at the Nov. 12 meeting.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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