Victim impact statement pros and cons

A handful of states in the U. There are several pros and cons of a victim impact statement to consider when looking at how this information can impact the criminal justice system. So, a victim impact statement is a statement by the victim to let the court know how she or he has been affected by the crime. The purpose of the statement is to explain to the judge, parole boar or some other decision making body the impact so that it can make an informed decision about sentencing, parole, etc. For this reason, the impact statement form should provide clear instructions regarding the purpose of the VIS and the role of the victim at sentencing.

In addition, the victim should have the opportunity to discuss the statement ’s purpose with a legally trained professional, preferably the Crown with carriage of their case. Failing this, victim services workers should ensure that victims. Along with everything else it is, it puts the arguments against victim impact statements in the shade.

There are, however, two profound problems the law has to wrestle with, now that the voice of. Because of these competing concerns, Crown Attorneys were divided when asked about the best time for them to receive victim impact. This article examines the definition and concept of victim impact statement , its origin, its pros and cons and the Malaysian experience in the implementation of this right.

But most importantly. A victim - impact statement is necessarily limited by when it was written. At sixteen, I had the benefit of three years of distance, some therapy, and a small sense of how the events of my childhood.

Its use in capital cases is highly controversial. It will be taken into account by all criminal justice agencies involved in the case and it can play a key part in sentencing. The “ victim impact statement ” should come from the jury and judge, through their finding of guilt and sentence. We switched from the blood feud to the king’s justice a long time ago, and one of the salutary effects has been to make vengeance the province of the state, not the individual. That has, on the whole, been a good thing.

A victim impact statement is information on how an offence has affected you. The information you provide in your victim impact statement will be considered by the judge when sentencing the offender. What is the purpose of these guidelines? These guidelines are to help you prepare a victim impact statement. You may, for example, have suffered a physical injury, be affected emotionally or psychologically.

You might also have lost out financially. Crime affects people in different ways, whether emotionally, physically, financially, psychologically or in any other way. The court's decision. Contact Information.

Criticisms of victim impact statements Defence lawyers criticise victim impact statements as an inappropriate interven­ tion into the criminal justice sentencing process. The type of information pro­ posed for a victim impact statement is relevant to victims’ compensation enti­ tlements, not the punishment that should be given to an. At sentencing, every victim has the right to present a victim impact statement to the appropriate authorities in the criminal justice system and to have it considered. The victim impact statement describes the harm done to or loss suffered by the victim of the offence.

A court can also receive a Community Impact Statement in fraud cases that would describe the losses suffered as a result of. The present study explored the influence of victim impact statements on juror decision-making in the presence of mitigation factors. The showed that the presence of a victim impact statement in capital proceedings did not necessarily have a substantial affect on the acceptance of aggravation or mitigation issues.

Victim Impact Statements. Participants were more.