Victim Impact Statement (VIS)

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INTRODUCTION

At the end of the trial, if the judge finds the evidence is strong enough, they will decide that the accused is guilty. But before the judge give the sentence, DPP will tell the court why the sentence should be heavy. This is where the DPP will invite the witness to talk about their suffering because of the crime, in court. If you don’t want to speak in court, then you can also prepare a statement to be read out in court by the DPP or a family member. This statement is called the Victim Impact Statement (VIS).
VIS can be defined as an oral or written statement provided by a victim concerning the impact of a specific crime. The VIS is to allow the person or persons directly affected by the crime to address the court during the …show more content…

The first case, Booth v. Maryland, was decided in 1987. John Booth was convicted of killing Irvin and Rose Bronstein during a robbery in their home. In this case, John Booth and Willie Reed bound and gagged an elderly couple. Believing that the couple might be able to identify them, Booth stabbed them numerous times with a kitchen knife. The trial judge allowed the jury to consider a VIS that detailed the family’s and the community’s resect and admiration for the victims as well as the impact of the murder on the victim’s family. The Supreme Court reversed the death sentence and held that it was impermissible to allow the jury access to such evidence in the sentencing phase of a death penalty proceeding. The court listed three factors that precluded the prosecution from introducing evidence of homicide’s impact on the victim’s family. Firstly, in holding that VIS impermissibility allows the jury to focus on the victim rather than the Defendant. The Court was particularly moved by the fact that the capital defendant does not typically choose his or her victim and in fixing punishment, there should be no correlation between the murder and the grief experienced by the victim’s family. Secondly, the Court held that the sentence of death should not turn on the characteristics of the victim and the victim’s family. Finally, the Court stated that because a VIS contains the subjective perceptions and feeling of family members, the defendant has limited rebuttal

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