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Victim Impact Statement

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Victim Impact Statements and Their Importance to the Victims

Throughout the years offenders have been trialed and sentenced for their crimes just by the evidence presented to the court. Most of them serve their sentences until they have either reach their maximum sentence or apply for parole. Many of these cases are cut and dry, meaning that the offender’s sentences are predetermined by the crime and the offender’s criminal history whereas, the offender’s parole is determined by years served and good credits earned while in prison. There are times when sentences can be lengthened and paroles can be denied by a victim coming forward and presenting their side of the story in a Victim Impact Statement (VIS). Most victims or the family of victims …show more content…

The court is mostly concerned with the offender, the crime, and the punishment. It wasn’t until 1976 when Doris Tate presented a victims impact statement in California because she was worried that a member of the Manson family, who murdered her daughter, would obtain parole. California was also the first state to adopt the Victims’ Rights Amendments in 1992. (Neubauer, 2008) After 1992 there was much controversy of victim impact statements. Some believed that victims had the right to be heard and a chance to purpose a desired sentence. While others felt it was unconstitutional because it raised the risk of a jury or judge sentencing an offender to death. In the case of Payne v. Tennessee the court ruled that the admission of victim impact statements did not violate the Constitution’s but would be irrelevant in death penalty cases. (Neubauer, 2008) However, the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit the sentencing jury from considers Victim Impact statements in a capital cases. So when exactly are victims allowed to be heard and how can these statements benefit the victim? Do they understand that they have rights as …show more content…

Some victims feel like it is still too soon and they are not emotionally ready to relive the crime. Victims often times fear retaliation from the offender if they speak up about what the offender has done, but most of the victims feel like their opinions will not matter or that he/she will not be truly heard. However I believe that with the help of advocates such as, Mothers against Drunk Drivers (MADD), we could help victims around the country understand the benefits of submitting an impact statement and provide tips to help their statements make the greatest amount of impact on the court or parole

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This case helped clarify that the death penalty (capital punishment) is constitutional as long as the charges brought on by the conviction and the judicial proceedings do not violate the 8th amendment and in this case, the death penalty does not automatically violate. The penalty cannot be “excessive” and cannot be completely inappropriate for the severity of the crimes, and in this case, the crime itself was murder. The main impact was that the state of Georgia’s decision on capital punishment was constitutional as long as the procedures involved in the decision of the case didn’t violate the constitution (and the crime being tried was a severe crime in itself and that the penalty was not excessive in comparison to the crime committed) and in response, 35 of the state’s legislatures changed their death penalty statute, so that their state’s procedures could carefully and judiciously help aid in a jury reaching a decision on the death penalty following this case. Gregg was the first criminal tried by both state and supreme courts whose death sentence was upheld and not

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For most people, only the person involved in the encounter are labeled as victims. The pain comes in from the view of one who feels the full effects of the ordeal. However, there is more to the scope of victims than the person directly involved in the crime. Debra narrates how much her family participates in events following up her kidnap and her husband’s murder. Family members would like to see the perpetrator get the death penalty.

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He also acknowledged that by allowing the content of a victim impact statement to influence the jury could lead them to choose the death penalty for reasons which were irrelevant to the defendant's decision to kill. This diverted attention from the facts of the crime. Justice Powell determined that by introducing the emotionally-charged opinions of family members into the case would destroy the reasoned decision-making. This is critical in capital cases. The major factor, in this case, argued if the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution protected a defendant from cruel and unusual punishment.

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Prior to South Carolina v. Gathers (1989) 490 U.S. 805, Booth v. Maryland (1987) 482 U.S. 496, and Payne v. Tennessee (1991) 501 U.S. 808, victims did not have a voice in criminal cases other than reporting a crime, and testifying at trial. Unlike the offender, victims were relegated to sit in abeyance until the trial was over. In Linda R.S. v. Richard D. (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a crime victim couldn’t coerce a criminal prosecution because "a private citizen lacks a judicially cognizable interest in the prosecution or non-prosecution of another" (Donahoe, 1999). This case supported the fact that victims had little to no legal rights within a court of law. The U.S. Constitution recognizes rights for someone who commits a

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The Eighth Amendment is something we have came across before.” One of the biggest arguments we have is the death penalty. This is one of the biggest examples of the 8th amendment that is used in court cases. This leads to big controversy of the death penalty that leads judges making sure they follow the 8th amendment. Lots of people use a defendant that the 8th amendment is being violated when they get charge with this punishment.

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This was the issue in this case. The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence Payne was given. The U.S. Supreme court held that the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit a capital sentencing jury from considering the impact that a victim's death had upon surviving family members. The Court reasoned that since virtually no limits are placed on the relevant mitigating evidence a capital defendant may introduce concerning his own circumstances, the prosecution must be allowed to submit similar counter evidence. Evidence regarding the assessment of the harm caused by the defendant has long been an important factor in determining the appropriate punishment, and victim impact evidence is simply another method of informing the sentencing authority about such

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Again, for the Brock Turner case, the victim, luckily, was able have her loved-ones, such as her sister and her parents, speak about how the assault impacted her life. However, many other victims might not be so lucky to have people come in and testify on their behalf. For example, if a homeless woman with no known friends or relatives were to be assaulted, she wouldn’t be able to have someone report about how the assault impacted her. Another scenario could be if a victim is assaulted but the victim’s loved-ones aren’t attentive to the them, and don’t notice the severe impact the assault has had on his or her life. Similarly, maybe the victim is not very expressive.

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However, pretrial publicity has been shown the significantly affect the judgments jury members make about the defendant, which subsequently affects their interpretation of evidence and their overall verdicts. The biases brought about by pretrial publicity deny the defendant a trial by an impartial jury, a right guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. By postponing the publicity of the case until after the trial has begun would still give the media their First Amendment right of reporting the details of the case and give the defendant his Sixth Amendment right of an impartial jury. Even if all pretrial publicity cannot be halted, defending attorneys can use strategies to mediate the effects of pretrial publicity. It is important to be aware of the effects pretrial publicity has on the judgments of jury members in order to ensure defendants rights are not violated.

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1708 Words | 7 Pages

In today’s day and age, a person does not get put to death for just any crime. A recurring argument against the death penalty is that sentencing a defendant to death violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition. The Eighth Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment. Mental illness is expressly recognized as a mitigating factor in most death penalty statutes. The Supreme Court came to the conclusion in the case of Ford vs. Wainwright that the use of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to execute a person whose mental state renders understanding of capital punishment is impossible.

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673 Words | 3 Pages

Victim witness programs are used by the government in order to provide support and assistance to those who fall victim to a crime. According to Victim Witness Program, the primary goals of such programs, include but are not limited to, encouraging victims to participate in any parole and supervised release processes of their offender, notify and facilitate victims in participation of any hearing or release dates in regards to their offender, provide options for supportive services, and advocate for crime victims (2015, para.1). The organization under which the victim-witness program is located is under a system, which has many internal constituencies, thus creating competing and conflicting purposes. The goals of the victim-witness program are quite simple and seek out to give the victim the right to be represented during the processing of the offender, however, given the multiple roles the court, for example, must serve, the goals of the victim-witness program can be both complex and conflicting.

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However, an even bigger problem is the fact that the victims almost never get justice. Approximately half of rape kits are either lost or never tested to help find and prosecute the criminals. Furthermore, the few rapists that are ever found guilty get less sentencing than people who committed petty crimes. The worst of all is when loved ones do not even believe in the victim’s story. This was the case between Stella and Blanche when Stella said “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley.

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Capital punishment is a highly debated issue, with questions surrounding its fairness and constitutionality under the Eighth Amendment due to the protections it provides and the

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A perfect example is the use of victim impact statements. They allow those close to victims to express the emotions of vengeance and hatred for the criminal in a more free, organic way than is possible during the strict regular court proceedings. Regardless of how the statements affect the result, the injured individuals have a platform to state their feelings and the unstated consequences of the crime without worrying about getting the facts right or making good eye contact with the jury. Even though victim impact statements are recorded by a court reporter and heard by a jury, they are a very personal way for those who are hurting to directly tell the person responsible how his actions impacted them.

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The victim has the right combination of power, influence or sympathy to successfully elicit victim status without fearing any opposition from his-her offender. It seems likely that, assumptions, based on this stereotypical image of the ideal victim, may help to generate criteria which facilitate the assessment of the ‘newsworthiness’ of specific crime stories by the media. (Dignan, 2004). Such images may also be invoked, consciously or unconsciously, by single issue campaigners and also politicians when seeking to promote the interests of victims, or to influence the way their offenders are dealt with (Dignan, 2004).

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Without the cooperation of victims and witnesses, the criminal justice system would cease to function. The prominent role played by victims compels us to have a cursory glance over the Rights of victims. 1.4.1 Why should crime victims have rights?  Everyone is equal before the law; thus unlike the defendant victims also should enjoy certain rights.  The criminal justice system should account for the interests of victims so as while dealing with the suspect; the distress of victims is not

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