NCJ Number
102850
Date Published
1985
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This paper assesses the implementation of Proposition 8 passed by California voters in 1982. Proposition 8 gives crime victims the right to allocution at sentencing and parole hearings and increased access to restitution.
Abstract
The study surveyed presiding court judges, district attorneys, chief probation officers, and victim/witness program directors throughout the State and interviewed 172 felony offense victims. Previous law provided victim input through victim impact statements in presentence reports and personal appearance at aggravation or mitigation hearings. Results indicate that it is unclear whether victims' rights are more than privileges, and rulings have been mixed in the few cases that have come to higher courts. Less than 3 percent of felony victims have exercised Proposition 8's right to allocution. From the victim's perspective, written impact statements may serve as well as actual appearance. Victims of serious crimes involving bodily injury were most responsive to participating in sentencing. This participation did not occur suddenly but developed over the course of criminal proceedings. At this time, most California victims are not asserting their newly awarded rights. While the system works sufficiently well for the majority, for some the opportunity to express their feelings to a judge helps restore the balance upset by a serious crime. 13 references.