NCJ Number
158910
Date Published
1985
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video uses an interview format to examine the attitudes and outlooks of victims of violence, including family members of murder victims.
Abstract
One person interviewed is the mother of a young girl brutally tortured and killed by a 17-year-old stranger, who later called to taunt the mother. Another victim interviewed was a retail store employee shot in the back by a robber and paralyzed from the waist down. Other victims interviewed are a police officer made a paraplegic by a criminal's bullet, a woman made a quadriplegic by a gun shot, and a father whose daughter was murdered. Each victim recounts the violent incident that so affected their lives and discusses the various factors that have influenced their attitudes and adjustments since the incident. The father whose daughter was murdered felt victimized a second time by a criminal justice system that showed little concern for his rights and feelings as a victim. He now works to reform the criminal justice system to make it responsive to victims' needs. The police officer made a quadriplegic does not harbor hostility toward the man who shot him and has focused on making the best of his handicap through participation in sports for the disabled. The woman made a quadriplegic has detached herself from the event that disabled her and focuses now on adjusting to her handicap. The woman whose daughter was murdered so brutally struggles to maintain her own mental health as she seeks to resolve and dissipate her pain and anger. Thus, the video features the diversity of victim reactions to being victimized by violence.