The victim impact statement holds immense significance within the criminal justice system. It is an essential platform that victims utilize to demonstrate the extent of the profound impact of the crimes perpetrated against them. Through victim impact statements, the victims can illustrate the physical, financial, and psychological issues they endure after the crimes. Victims write these statements for various reasons besides conveying the message they have and expressing their dissatisfaction. They use victim impact statements to claim or seek justice, as others use them to empower themselves and victims of similar crimes. Such reasons have made the victim impact statement gain popularity and relevance in recent years in society. This paper explores and highlights the reasons many victims are opting for victim impact statements besides analyzing real examples of the statement.
Victim impact statements have gained popularity among individuals who have been victims of specific crimes in recent years. These statements tend to provide a voice for the directly affected individuals who want to express their concerns. It helps them demonstrate and illustrate the lasting effects of the crimes perpetrated against them (Erez, 2019). The narratives victims write in that victim impact statement usually go beyond the factual accounts. Instead, they delve into the financial losses, physical injuries, and emotional toll the crimes take on their daily routines and life in general. In other words, the victims write the victim impact statement to express the psychological impact the crimes have subjected them to. Trauma, which is common among crime victims, exposes them to far-reaching effects, including mental well-being. The victims also develop fear, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Shapland, 2019). Consequently, victims use victim impact statements as a platform to voice and display the invisible scars that persist long in the aftermath of the crimes against them.
Another reason victims write victim impact statements is to seek justice and closure. The anger the victims have immediately after the crimes results in the desire for accountability. They always want to hold the perpetrators responsible for the damages and the harm they cause. It helps them participate in the sentencing proceedings because victim impact statements give them the opportunity and proper platform to share their stories (Phillips & Abdulla, 2021). Most victims believe that they share and vividly illustrate the magnitude of the effects of the crimes committed against them, which can, in one way or another, influence the decisions during the sentencing proceedings. The victims also believe such statements can ensure that offenders face appropriate punishments.
Moreover, the victim impact statement allows victims to provide their context regarding the crimes against them. The victims use it to illustrate the incident in detail while providing their views and the broader influence it has had on them and their family members. The victims can also use the victim impact statements to give their perspectives on the crimes and their impact on other victims in the community. The invaluable information in those victim impact statements can help develop a comprehensive understanding of the crime and its ripple effects (Erez, 2019). The relevant parties, including the court, can get vital insights into the victim impact statement the victims illustrate.
Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the extent of the significance of victim impact statements. For instance, the literature indicates that when the victims share their experiences on such platforms, it helps them assert their rights and empowers them (Bazelon & Green, 2019). Such instances happen when the victims experience victimization. Studies have also indicated that a victim impact statement allows victims to participate in criminal justice proceedings. Such participation in the process makes the victims develop a specific level of satisfaction besides feeling fairness in the process. They do not only feel heard but also acknowledged, which underscores the victim-centered approach to justice when solving crimes. Some researchers have also indicated the significance of victim impact statements, especially as influential and guiding tools in some court cases (Shapland, 2019). Some victim statements have been considered while making court decisions. It indicates how the sentencing process considers and takes a broader perspective when making the final decision instead of solely relying on legal procedures.
Numerous victims have written victim impact statements. An example is a sexual assault on an unconscious woman by Brock Luner at Stanford University in 2015 (Guardian, 2016). The woman’s victim impact statement vividly captures and illustrates the devastating ripple effects of the assault she suffered at the hands of Turner behind a dumpster on the campus. She narrates how the perpetrator seized the opportunity because of the state she was to force himself on her. The incident was in a public space and witnessed by numerous individuals. She narrates the emotional toll the incident had on her, her family, and her friends. The woman states how she was traumatized, especially when the incident was aired on one of the local media televisions. For instance, the victim states, “I was not ready to tell my boyfriend or parents that actually, I may have been raped behind a dumpster, but I don’t know by who or when or how” (Guardian, 2016). Such incidents demonstrate the psychological effect the crime had on her.
The incident also had a long-lasting impact on the victim’s life. For instance, the victim narrates how, after reading about what happened to her in one of the articles, she did not eat, sleep, or interact with others. The woman also states how her independence, natural joy, and gentleness had taken a turn for the worse (Guardian, 2016). She narrates how, instead of working on herself and her healing processes, she was spending much of the time trying to remember what happened to her to present before the court, which only exacerbated the issue. These are invisible injuries that victim impact statements allow individuals to express before the relevant parties.
This victim impact statement aligns with the growing body of literature that supports the use of this platform within the criminal justice system. It helps express the emotional and psychological impact victimization has on individuals (Shapland, 2019). Like other statements, the woman uses the victim impact statement to express her anger, disappointments, and frustrations about how the incident happened. For instance, despite her unconscious state during the incident, she was supposed to prove the suspect was the perpetrator. The woman also describes the long-lasting ripple effects the incident had on her life and family and its implications in the community. It indicates how the use of such statements in the criminal justice system has grown over the years.
In conclusion, victim impact statements are essential within the criminal justice system. Most victims rely on the statements for various reasons, including seeking justice, expressing themselves and the context of the crimes, and stating the ripple effects. The woman’s victim impact statement eloquently describes the context of the assault she experienced. Such statements underscore the growing body of the significance of the platform in crime sentencing. Therefore, incorporating such statements in such processes helps develop a comprehensive approach to justice in society.
References
Bazelon, L., & Green, B. A. (2019). Victims’ Rights from a Restorative Perspective. Ohio St. J. Crim. L., 17, 293.
Erez, E. (2019). Integrating a victim perspective in criminal justice through victim impact statements. In Integrating a victim perspective within criminal justice (pp. 165-184).
Guardian (2016). Stanford sexual assault case: victim impact statement in full, retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/06/stanford-sexual-assault-case-victim-impact-statement-in-full
Phillips, A., & Abdulla, Z. (2021). Judicial officers’ experiences of including victim impact reports in the criminal justice process. Social Work, 57(1), 39-56.
Shapland, J. (2019). Victims and criminal justice: Creating responsible criminal justice agencies. In Integrating a victim perspective within criminal justice (pp. 147-164). Routledge.
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