Sherrerd Hartness is a speaker, writer, and passionate advocate for families and co-victims of murder.

When Sherrerd’s younger sister, Carlotta, was murdered in 1977, she experienced firsthand the lasting impact that violent crime has on families and communities. Now, she shares her story to help educate people on what it is really like going forward for the people who experience this type of trauma.

“I want people to learn what happens to co-victims of murder after the news stories stop. My mission is to widen the lens on what life is like going forward for people like me, to remove the taboo of speaking about murder to co-victims and equip people with ideas and insight on how to be truly helpful and supportive. I want people to know what’s helpful to say and do and what’s not. Taking the needs of co-victims seriously is long overdue.”

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The headlines focus on the crimes and punishment. Families are left to internally disintegrate.

— Sherrerd Hartness

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Testimonials

  • “Sherrerd Hartness wants to help people learn what happens to co-victims of murder after the news stories stop. She speaks from experience, having lost her younger sister to murder 46 years ago. I was honored to meet Sherrerd and hear her story.”

    — Sister Helen Prejean, Author of Dead Man Walking

  • "Sherrerd has an incredibly powerful story, and years of experience and wisdom to share with others...[her] story is powerful, well-told with relatable examples, and can teach us so much about grief, loss, compassion, forgiveness, mental health...and so much more."

    — Dr. Ashley Mancik, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina

  • "I was emotionally moved at Sherrerd's account of the violent murder of her sister Carlotta in 1977...I highly recommend her as a public speaker. She is articulate, eloquent, passionate, moving, and genuine. [Her] audiences are completely enthralled as she educates them."

    — Dr. Mary Baskin Waters, Department of Women’s and Gender Studies, University of South Carolina

  • “Sherrerd Hartness gives a riveting, insightful and poignant teaching about the powerful lifelong ramifications of violence on victims' families and friends, but also on those whose own family members have committed acts of violence… Sherrerd showed us a pathway to show love and to help those traumatized individuals in real and not trivial or counterproductive ways, and described how this learning led her to consider the families of those condemned, as well as the condemned themselves. This led us to consider the kinds of life experiences that can lead to cycles of violence. It was a powerful experience to learn from Sherrerd what it has taken her a lifetime to understand, and we are blessed to learn from her firsthand.”

    — Catherine Mille

 

Invite Sherrerd to Speak

Sherrerd is available for conferences, universities, organizational meetings, and a variety of community events — helping audiences understand the long-term effects of violent crime and giving a voice to those who have suffered this uniquely painful type of loss, while acknowledging that everyone has suffered loss in some way.