Stand Up, Speak Up, Save a Life

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

In early 2016, two female classmates, high school sophomores at Independence High School in Glendale, Arizona, died. In a murder-suicide, one girl, despondent over a pending break-up, shot her girlfriend before taking her own life. The deaths occurred in the morning on campus, just as classes were beginning. Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) Prosecutor Gina Godbehere was among the first responders to the scene and as the tragedy and subsequent investigation unfolded, she was spurred to address the significant issues of teen suicide and bullying, as well as the related social problems facing teenagers today, with the creation of the “Stand Up, Speak Up, Save a Life” Program.