NCJ Number
231071
Date Published
2010
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines four murder/manslaughter cases in an attempt to evaluate the social dynamics of victim impact statements in England and Wales.
Abstract
Victim Impact Statements (VISs) have been introduced in a number of criminal justice systems across the globe. They are characteristically delivered after conviction but before sentence, and their possible use in shaping the sentencing decision tends to be ill-defined. VISs, later called Family Impact Statements, in England and Wales were introduced experimentally in trials for murder and manslaughter. However, there was great concern over giving voice to victims with many wary of the prospect that the emotional tone of trials for murder and manslaughter would rise to inappropriate levels; that judges would be subjected to improper pressure; and families would have expectations unduly raised about their ability to influence sentence. This essay contributed to an evaluation of pilot victim advocates' in five Crown Court centers from April 2006. The contribution consisted of four case studies centered on VISs which presented a new and detailed account of the social dynamics entailed in making victim impact statements. The similarities in the case studies indicate that the statements, in three of the four trials, appeared to have had only a modest effect on the families' satisfaction and very little effect on sentencing, and they did meet with a measure of structured resistance from professionals. The roles of victims and their survivors in England and Wales are hedged about by tight proscriptions on their ability to participate as parties, decide outcomes, or induce emotional contagion. Notes and references