Personal Reflection on Victims Rights
First part of this assignment was to write a personal stance on the current state of victims’ rights in America.
It is Peter’s belief and personal stance that despite of all the efforts, victim is a mere witness to the crime committed by an offender and is as such by the Justice Department. A victim gets plugged into the system when it’s convenient for the system…and forgets them when they’ve served their purpose. In California, Marsy’s Law “provides victims with rights to justice and due process” (" State Of California Department Of Justice Office Of The Attorney General", 2013). Changes in law were implemented to protect the victim from more harm and keep him or her informed of the status of the case. Victim has a right to be notified of and be present during any public proceeding, at which the defendant and the prosecutor are entitled to be present. Victim has a right to be treated with respect and to have personal information withheld from a disclosure to the offender. Injured party has a right to make an impact statement that should be taken into consideration during preparation by the probation department. “I think that a Victim Impact Statement balances the scales of justice. For once the victim has an advocate…his/her words.” Peter thinks Victim Impact Statement in particular makes the victim feel more involved in the process, but that in reality it changes nothing, concerning sentencing.
Second part of the assignment was to write if a person believes that the 2004 Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CRVA) has been successful and explain the answer.
It seems that the presence of the victim in each of the stages (involving plea, release, sentencing any parole proceedings) of the court proceeding is unnecessary. Peter recognizes the need of the victim to participate in an assignment of the punishment for self-fulfillment purposes; however, justice system does not recognize the position of the witness-prosecutor as a courtroom player. In his opinion, the input of
It is Peter’s belief and personal stance that despite of all the efforts, victim is a mere witness to the crime committed by an offender and is as such by the Justice Department. A victim gets plugged into the system when it’s convenient for the system…and forgets them when they’ve served their purpose. In California, Marsy’s Law “provides victims with rights to justice and due process” (" State Of California Department Of Justice Office Of The Attorney General", 2013). Changes in law were implemented to protect the victim from more harm and keep him or her informed of the status of the case. Victim has a right to be notified of and be present during any public proceeding, at which the defendant and the prosecutor are entitled to be present. Victim has a right to be treated with respect and to have personal information withheld from a disclosure to the offender. Injured party has a right to make an impact statement that should be taken into consideration during preparation by the probation department. “I think that a Victim Impact Statement balances the scales of justice. For once the victim has an advocate…his/her words.” Peter thinks Victim Impact Statement in particular makes the victim feel more involved in the process, but that in reality it changes nothing, concerning sentencing.
Second part of the assignment was to write if a person believes that the 2004 Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CRVA) has been successful and explain the answer.
It seems that the presence of the victim in each of the stages (involving plea, release, sentencing any parole proceedings) of the court proceeding is unnecessary. Peter recognizes the need of the victim to participate in an assignment of the punishment for self-fulfillment purposes; however, justice system does not recognize the position of the witness-prosecutor as a courtroom player. In his opinion, the input of