Victim Impact Statement Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Form

Instructions and help about Victim Impact Statement Virginia Department Of Criminal Justice

A victim impact statement that a crime victim gives at criminal sentencing explaining what the impact was of the crime. It can be used by the judge to determine an appropriate sentence. It also can be used in other ways, such as sending a message to the defendant about the pain and suffering that a crime has caused. Victim impact statements have been in the news lately in some prominent cases. For example, many will recall the U.S. gymnastics victims who were victimized by Dr. Larry Nassar. Jude Aquilina, in that case, allowed more than 100 women to come into her courtroom and give a victim impact statement as a way of obtaining, perhaps, some kind of closure, an opportunity to address the defendant. An opportunity to address the world about what that crime had to them. In the last several decades, there's been an increasing interest in making sure that victims have right protected during the criminal justice process at appropriate points. For example, in 1982, President Reagan's task