Hamilton County inmates asked to help solve homicides, including Butler County’s

New decks of playing cards featuring more that 100 victims of unsolved homicides in Hamilton, Butler and Montgomery counties were officially unveiled Sunday in Cincinnati.

Hope Dudley is seeking justice for not only her son, but for more than 100 families in the region who have not found closure for a loved one’s homicide.

And she is banking on playing cards in the hands of inmates to turn up information.

Hope Dudley’s son, Chaz, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Hamilton County in 2007. Dudley became an activist for victims, founding the group U-Can-Speak-For-Me.

The group distributes posters, flyers and playing cards featuring photos of homicide victims to prisons and jails, along with public locations, in the hope that someone will come forward with information.

Since then, she has ventured out to include cases in the surrounding counties. The new card decks that were delivered to the Butler County Jail last week feature 11 cases from this county and several from Montgomery County. The 5,000 decks will be delivered to jails in the region and Ohio prisons.

Loved ones and friends of victims gathered with Hamilton County Sheriff James Neil Sunday for the unveiling of all the cases last weekend.

Dudley replenishes the cards about every five years. She asks permission from families to feature cases on the cards. This year Dudley’s group got a monetary boost from Neil, who gave her organization funds from forfeited drug money.

MORE: Unsloved homicides: Playing cards seek tips from inmates in the Butler County Jail 

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