Victims Impact Statement

I. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the Victims Impact Statement. This policy has taken place to help the victims of crimes while giving them a voice during the sentencing trial of the offender. The Victims Impact Statement was given more importance in the mid-1970s; this policy ultimately gives victims the power to make statements at the sentencing phase of criminal proceedings. After the defendant has been found guilty by the judge or jury, the victim is afforded the opportunity to make a statement to the court regarding the impact of the crime on the victim and their family (Mark Stevens). I will examine the policy of Victim Impact Statement with the goal of discussing what has worked and how it has helped the victims;

The prosecutor is supposed to represent the victim, however it is the interest of the prosecutor to represent the state. Due to this trend, many victims started to experience economical and psychological problems and most importantly a sense of injustice emerged. As a result of these factors, many agencies and local governments started to put in place some laws that guaranteed the basics rights of victims in the early 1970s. For example crime victims compensation was put in place and rape shield provisions (Paul G. Cassell). However, it wasn’t until 1982 that President Ronald Reagan appointed a Task Force on Victims of Crime; their biggest conclusion was that “ The Criminal Justice System had lost the balance that has been the cornerstone of its wisdom” (Presidents Task Force on Victims of Crime) and recommended various reforms to the way victims were treated in the Criminal Justice System. The task force recommended, “victims, no less than defendants, are entitled to have their views considered at sentencing” (President Task Force, Pg

JUSTIFICATIONS FOR VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS As mentioned previously, Victim Impact Statements help provide information that in some instances might not be available to courts or parole boards. In addition, victims are often not called to testify, and when they do, they only answer to narrow questions, which don’t give full detail regarding the victim’s perception. Therefore the Victim Impact Statement is the only opportunity that victims are given to participate in the criminal proceedings and to confront those who have harmed them. Based on these justifications, some research has been put into place to help examine the positive aspects of this policy.

Providing Information To The