NCJ Number
252182
Date Published
August 2018
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the rationale for a crime victim's right to be heard at sentencing, along with various ways in which victims may exercise this right.
Abstract
A victim's right to be heard at sentencing provides information that can inform the judge or jury regarding imposition of a specific sentence or condition of sentence, and it can also provide restorative/therapeutic benefit for the victim. This paper discusses the following ways in which victims may exercise this right: 1) personally delivered oral victim impact statement; 2) written victim impact statement; 3) audiovisual victim impact statement; and 4) filing a sentencing memorandum with the trial court. A personally delivered oral victim impact statement may be an expression of how the offender's crime has harmed the victim, thus contributing to proportionality in sentencing and a catharsis for the victim. A written instead of an oral victim impact statement may be preferred by some victims. This enables victims to inform the court of how they have been harmed by the offender without triggering additional traumatic stress the victim does not want to experience. An audiovisual victim impact statement may take the form of a pre-recorded video of the victim delivering the impact statement or a memorialization/dramatization of the impact through images and sound. This method should cause little controversy, and one state has even promoted this method for victim impact statements. By filing a sentencing memorandum with the trial court, the victim's goal is to advocate for a specific sentence or condition of sentence, including restitution. Its purpose is to persuade the judge with legal argument to issue the victim's preferred sentence. 27 notes