Open Access Research Article

THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD: IMPACT OF VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS ON SENTENCING SEVERITY

Author(s):
KHUSHBU CHAWLA DR. ADITYA JAIN
Journal IJLRA
ISSN 2582-6433
Access Open Access
Volume 3
Issue 8
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Abstract

The integration of Victim Impact Statements (VIS)—designated in select common-law jurisdictions as Victim Personal Statements (VPS)—represents a profound structural reorientation of modern criminal justice. Framed as a crucial correction to the historic marginalization of crime victims within bilateral adversarial structures, the "right to be heard" is underpinned by procedural justice and therapeutic jurisprudence frameworks. However, the instrumental effect of victim input on judicial determinations—specifically whether subjective harm narratives systematically escalate sentencing severity—remains an enduring jurisprudential and empirical controversy. This paper provides a multi-jurisdictional doctrinal and empirical analysis examining the structural relationship between victim impact evidence and penal severity across the United States, Canada, England and Wales, and Australia. Synthesizing archival sentencing data, cognitive-psychological experiments, and appellate jurisprudence, this study identifies a clear institutional bifurcation: while professional judges demonstrate institutional and cognitive insulation against punitive inflation in routine felony adjudications, lay jurors in capital sentencing proceedings exhibit acute susceptibility to emotional heuristics, producing statistically significant escalations in death-sentence recommendations. Furthermore, the analysis demonstrates how the identifiable victim effect, unvetted delivery modalities, and extra-legal socio-demographic disparities generate profound due process and equal protection vulnerabilities. The paper articulates a calibrated normative framework designed to preserve the expressive dignity of victims without compromising the foundational requirements of proportional desert, evidentiary reliability, and sentencing equity.   Keywords: Victim Impact Statements, Sentencing Severity, Retributive Proportionality, Procedural Justice, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Lay Sentencers, Identifiable Victim Effect.

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Authors: KHUSHBU CHAWLA & DR. ADITYA JAINRegistration ID: 1013630 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13630 & IJLRA13631Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India

Article Information

THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD: IMPACT OF VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS ON SENTENCING SEVERITY

Authors: KHUSHBU CHAWLA, DR. ADITYA JAIN

  • Journal IJLRA
  • ISSN 2582-6433
  • Volume 3
  • Issue 8
Citation Download Paper Full Details Search on Google Search on Google Scholar

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International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis

  • AbbreviationIJLRA
  • ISSN2582-6433
  • AccessOpen Access
  • LicenseCC 4.0

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