Amy Watkins
Encyclopedia
Amy Watkins was a social work
er from Topeka, Kansas
, who was murder
ed while walking down the street on March 8, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York
. Her death sparked widespread dismay in New York City, where the murder rate had been steadily dropping
since 1990, and days later 300 marchers expressed their grief with a candlelight march on her Prospect Heights
street. Mayor Rudy Giuliani
attended her wake.
Watkins graduated from the University of Kansas
in 1996, and was a student at the Hunter College
School of Social Work at the time of her death. Both institutions established scholarships in her name. The New York City chapter of the National Association of Social Workers
also renamed a scholarship in her honor.
was unable to make an arrest in the Watkins case for over a year, until August 2000, when one of the assailants boasted of the crime. Two men were ultimately convicted in 2001, David Jamison and Felix Rodriguez, and both received lengthy prison sentences. The case also made headlines because, during the course of the trial, Amy's parents Lawrence Watkins, a history teacher at Dominican Academy
on the Upper East Side in Manhattan and his wife Gayle Greene Watkins, established a close relationship with the mother of the main perpetrator, Jamison.
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
er from Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, who was murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
ed while walking down the street on March 8, 1999, in Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. Her death sparked widespread dismay in New York City, where the murder rate had been steadily dropping
Crime in New York City
Violent crime in New York City has decreased in the last fifteen years, and the murder rate in 2007 was at its lowest since at least 1963 when reliable statistics were first kept. Crime rates spiked in the 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic hit the city...
since 1990, and days later 300 marchers expressed their grief with a candlelight march on her Prospect Heights
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway to the south, and Washington Avenue to the east...
street. Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
attended her wake.
Watkins graduated from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 1996, and was a student at the Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
School of Social Work at the time of her death. Both institutions established scholarships in her name. The New York City chapter of the National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Social Workers
The National Association of Social Workers is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. It had over 150,000 members as of January 2008 and provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources for its members and for social workers in general...
also renamed a scholarship in her honor.
Police investigation
The NYPDNew York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
was unable to make an arrest in the Watkins case for over a year, until August 2000, when one of the assailants boasted of the crime. Two men were ultimately convicted in 2001, David Jamison and Felix Rodriguez, and both received lengthy prison sentences. The case also made headlines because, during the course of the trial, Amy's parents Lawrence Watkins, a history teacher at Dominican Academy
Dominican Academy
Dominican Academy is a Catholic college preparatory school for girls in the tradition of Saint Dominic. It is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City...
on the Upper East Side in Manhattan and his wife Gayle Greene Watkins, established a close relationship with the mother of the main perpetrator, Jamison.