The influence of victim impact statements on sentencing in capital cases

Victim Impact Statements are introduced during the sentencing phase of capital trials to allow family members of the victim to describe the financial, emotional, psychological, and physical affects the crime has had on their lives. Critics argue that this type of evidence is emotional and prejudicial information that leads to harsher sentences. The present study explored the influence of victim impact statements on juror decision-making in the presence of mitigation factors. The results showed that the presence of a victim impact statement in capital proceedings did not necessarily have a substantial affect on the acceptance of aggravation or mitigation issues. Participants were more likely to be lenient in sentencing in the presence of victim impact statements when there were mitigating circumstances such as mental retardation, hospitalization for a mental illness, schizophrenia, or sexual abuse as a child.