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Showing posts with the label Victim Impact Statements

Court Sentencing and Victim Impact Statements are about Showmanship, Not Justice

Cleveland, OH —Prosecutors lobbied lawmakers everywhere to create sentencing extravaganzas.  This is where so-called Victim Impact Statements are made.  Prosecutors have really succeeded in the efforts to change court rules under the popular guise of giving victims a voice.  It sounds like such a admirable effort until you closely examine what its really about.  Sentencing has changed into nothing more than a variation of the old time-honored Perpwalk for the defendants.  For the victims it’s little more than a perverted form of a Pity Party . Today admitted kidnapper, rapist and fetus killer Ariel Castro got his turn for the spectacle.  Victim  Michelle Knight dramatically told Castro, “You will Face Hell.” They always begin by parading in the defendant into court in jail garb and chains.  Everyone is already aware of what sentence is coming to be handed out and nothing here ever changes the actual punishment.  In Cast...