Victim Impact Statement

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Victim Impact Statement The victim-impact statement will serve as a valuable tool in the sentence I deliver. I adamantly defend the victim’s right to make a victim-impact statement. The victim has every right to be heard. I also believe the statement should be in the defendant’s file, for review in the event of parole. “In a recent survey by the National Center for Victims of Crime, over 1300 victims were asked to rate the importance of various legal rights. Over 80% stated that their ability to make a victim-impact statement at sentencing and at parole was "very important” (NCVC)”. I am assuming all of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances were heard during the defendant’s trial (Champion). The defendant has been convicted of aggravated assault. The only difference between aggravated assault and homicide is that the victim lived (Barkan). Clearly the defendant beat the victim with the intent of death or great bodily harm. Since aggravated assault is precipitate by emotions such as anger or revenge, the defendant clearly has emotional and/or behavioral issues. Even though the defendant used no weapon in the assault other factors such as his age, size, or physical abilities could have made him just as lethal. In a trial you deal with the facts of the case. The victim-impact statement will add the human element relevant to the crime. It will let me focus on the monetary cost of the crime. I will consider the suffering, social, physical, and psychological damage the victim has incurred. If the financial cost was not revealed in the trial, I will also have that information. The victim-impact statement will aid me in sentencing the defendant to an appropriate facility, the amount of time to be served, recommending appropriate treatment and setting a fair amount of restitution. 2. Barkan, Steven E. Criminology. Upper Saddle
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