Throughout the recent capital murder trial of Bobby Batiste in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court, family and friends of victim Andreas Galanis sat in a group two rows behind the prosecution”s table, sometimes in tears, other times stoic.
The group sat through graphic testimony and photos of the crime scene; detailed stories of deception and fraud; and even pictures of Galanis” battered and lifeless body.
Yet, through it all, one woman was by their side, even though she never met Galanis or his family until shortly after the murder.
For the past 19 years, Greta Bryan has served as victim assistance coordinator in 16th Circuit Court District and does what she can to help victims and their families in the wake of a crime. She”s also married to Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan.
First of all, can you just explain what your job entails?
This position was started in, I think it was 1987, because that”s when the Crime Victims” Bill of Rights came about. It”s when crime victims were first really recognized. So the Legislature passed a bill where every (Circuit Court) district would have a victim assistance coordinator. Mainly we”re just a liaison between the court system and the victims.
So what do you do for the typical victim of a crime or their family?
Well, it depends on the crime. If it”s a serious crime, like a personal injury crime, then I”ll try to, if there are medical bills or funeral bills or something like that, I”ll try to help them get in touch with crime victims compensation people in Jackson. Our attorney general has a whole crime victims division and very often they pay on medical bills and funeral bills. They even help pay for travel for the victims, like this (Batiste capital murder) trial we just had, the victim”s family. They will help pay the motel bills and pay part of their travel and their meals. They are a payer of last resort, though, in medical bills and all. Like an aggravated assault, if you have insurance or some other type of way to pay the bills, you have to exhaust that first. Also we have property crimes and I try to get in touch with all the victims. And identity theft and forgery cases. Whatever kind of crime has a victim. I try to get something called a victim”s impact statement in the file. This is used at sentencing. The court will want to know what kind of restitution to impose. We try to recoup from the defendant the cost of whatever the property was.
I”ve also noticed, especially at these bigger trials like Batiste”s, it seems like you”re comforting the victim”s family. Is that a big part of the job?
I”m not a counselor, but I do try to be with the family and explain to them what”s happening in the trial. Like Mrs. (Katerina) Galanis, (the victim”s mother) couldn”t be in the courtroom during the trial because she was a witness and witnesses are not allowed to hear the testimony of other witnesses. Also, when she did testify, it”s good to see a friendly face sitting out there because it”s a very stressful thing. Every time there was a break I”d try to go back and, not tell her what was said on the stand, but just tell her where we are and just be there for them. Of course Carolyn Clayton, from (victim support group) Survival Inc., in Tupelo, was here also.
How did you get involved in all this?
Well, I worked in the Circuit Clerk”s office as a deputy clerk for a good many years and that”s how I got to know (District Attorney) Forrest Allgood. Forrest was an assistant D.A. at the time and, when he was elected D.A., I went to work for him in his worthless check unit. Then the person who was victim coordinator at the time, Dorothy Langford, when she was hired by the judges to be a court administrator, Forrest moved me into the victim coordinator position.
Do you find yourself getting emotionally attached to these victims?
I do and there are some people I still keep in contact with. Deanna Veerkamp was a victim I don”t even know how many years ago in Lowndes County and I”m still in touch with her family … You know, you get very close to these families because it usually takes a long time between the indictment and the trial. Therefore, I spend a lot of time either on the phone or talking to them in person.
Is that difficult for you?
Emotionally it”s very difficult at times because you feel like you know these people. I feel like I know Andreas (Galanis) and I never met him. Their families become a big part of my family, really. Dolph and I have been down to the Gulf Coast twice to be at memorials at the Greek Orthodox Church for Andreas.
What would you say you enjoy about your job?
Well, it”s always something different. We travel from county to county and it”s not a dull job, I guess you could say. There”s always something different going on. It”s not always pleasant, but when you really feel like you”ve touched somebody and you get a note unexpectedly from someone, you really realize “Maybe I did make a difference.”
So you serve this whole Circuit Court area?
I mainly work now in Oktibbeha and Clay (counties) because just in this last year we hired another victim coordinator. That”s Becky Cunningham. She mainly does Lowndes and Noxubee, but until last year I did all four counties. The workload just got to be tremendous because there”s a lot of crime and a lot of victims.
Seeing all the things you do in court, has it changed your outlook on life or your perspective on things?
Well, my children think it has changed me. They think I”m suspicious of people and I”m always cautioning them. They”re grown, by the way, and I have grandchildren. But I”m wary of people and situations.
What do you do outside of work, like hobbies and whatnot?
I like to spend time with my grandchildren and Dolph and I like to take short trips. We don”t ever get very far, it seems like, but we like to travel. Mainly we spend our time with our grandchildren.
Are you from Starkville originally?
No. I”m from Meridian originally. I”ve lived here since 1972.
How did you wind up here?
With a former husband. But I”ve lived here longer than I”ve lived anywhere else. I left Meridian when I was like 18. This is home now.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
