The Evidential Quality of Victim Personal Statements and Family Impact Statements

Bibliographic Data

ID12596142
AuthorsIan Edwards (0000-0003-4207-2056, University of East Anglia, corresponding author)
Year2009
Volume13
Issue4
Pages293-320
Publication date2009-10-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe International Journal of Evidence & Proof (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1365-7127 • E-ISSN: 1740-5572
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1350/ijep.2009.13.4.330
OpenAlexW2115923318
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited3

Victim personal statements (VPS) were introduced by the UK government in 2001 and family impact statements (FIS) in 2007. This article explores the evidential quality that VPS/FIS have at sentencing. First, the article considers the notion of procedural fairness for offenders and the relationship between it and the rationales for VPS/FIS. Secondly, as a case study, it explores the introduction of victim impact statements (VIS) in South Australia where the evidential quality of VIS was a central issue during parliamentary debate on the introduction of victims' rights to present orally their VIS. Thirdly, it evaluates the current law relating to the admissibility and evidential quality of VPS/FIS in English law. It is argued that incorporating victims' information in sentencing has the potential to undermine key principles of procedural fairness, but VPS/FIS pose little threat to the fair treatment of offenders in light of judicial guidance

Criminology · Epistemology · Government (linguistics · Political science · Quality (philosophy · Sociology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Criminal Law and Evidence · Law · Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues · Psychology

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