Effect of Victim Impact Statements on Sentencing Patterns and Outcomes: The Australian Experience

• NCJ Number: 156904
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: (1995) Pages: 363-375
• Author(s): E Erez; L Roeger
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, International Crime Statistics Program.

Annotation

This article presents the results of a comparative Australian study which addressed the effect of victim impact statements (VISs) on sentencing patterns and other court dispositions.

Abstract

Data were derived from South Australian sentencing trends, court records, and in-depth interviews of members of the legal professional involved in the implementation of the VIS. The quantitative data supported neither the argument that VISs have an overall harshening effect on sentencing, nor did it confirm any of the supposed benefits of VISs in terms of increased victim restitution or compensation. The qualitative data indicated that, in the minority of cases where VISs affected sentencing outcome, they led judges to impose a more lenient, rather than a more severe, sentence. 2 tables, 2 figures, 3 notes, and 33 references