Re-integrating the Victim into the Sentencing Process

Abstract

Research into the social and psychological processes associated with offender disposition and their effects on victims of crime reveals dissatisfaction at their not being more involved in the criminal justice process. Victims feel disenfranchised and disempowered as they come to play only a secondary role. The victim impact statement (VIS) is a viable mechanism for bringing the victim back into the sentencing process. This article examines the development of the concept, its rationale and various forms , principle arguments for and against its introduction and concludes that it is an important reform in the direction of making the criminal justice system more responsive by satisfying victims' needs to be part of the process.