Do victim impacts statements matter and should they be allowed?

Question by Der Tag: Do victim impacts statements matter and should they be allowed?
Consider this hypothetical.

There are two college students, Lisa and Janet who were both brutally raped and beaten within an inch of their life. The perpetrator is captured and convicted. By the time sentencing finally arrives, years have passed. Though Lisa and Janet were victims of virtually the same crime in the same circumstance, their lives since have been radically different.

Janet has descended into a life of drug and sexual addiction. She has been unable to hold a job, abuses prescription medication and alcohol to cope with PTSD and has been evicted from several apartments. She has dropped out of college and has moved back home with her parents.

When sentencing day arrives, she arrives at the court sobbing, demanding her rapist receive the maximum sentence.

Lisa’s life has been quite different. She has gone to therapy and still has nightmares but has recovered quite well. She has graduated and has enrolled in graduate school and regularly volunteers at the battered women’s shelter. She has a recently met a very nice, brilliant man who she has been seeing for several months.

Sentencing day arrives and passes without her knowledge, she had been notified of her opportunity to speak, but ultimately forgot about it due to the other things going on in her busy life.

So, here’s my question: Should the rapist of Janet or Lisa be treated any differently? If you answer that she should be punished all the time, what is the point of victim impact statements and why should they be allowed?

I am currently against them, but you might be able to change my mind with a good answer.
So, you are arguing the sentence a criminal receives ought to be based upon the pain it caused a single individual. I argue that should only be a small consideration. A crime a serious a aggravated rape must be punished severely. It matters not that Lisa has moved on and Janet hasn’t. Each should spend the majority of the rest of their lives in prison.

Best answer:

Answer by Armchair Legal
Absolutely. A Victim Impact Statement grants the victim not only an opportunity to provide information for the judge to consider at sentencing, but allows the victim to articulate the pain, anguish, and financial devastation the crime has caused.

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