Overview
This encyclopedia entry surveys victim rights at sentencing in adversarial justice systems and explores the continuing debate surrounding victims’ claim to have a voice in the sentencing of “their” offender. Although victims claim input at various stages of the criminal process – from bail to parole – the sentencing process is of most significance to victims. At the same time, victim input at sentencing generates the most opposition among scholars and practitioners, making the topic of continuing significance to criminal justice professionals as well as victims and their advocates. The essay reviews the arguments for and against victim input at sentencing and the empirical research which has explored the effects of victim-related reforms in the area of sentencing.
Introduction
Within the adversarial model of justice, a criminal trial is construed as a conflict between two theoretically equal adversaries – the state and the defendant – played out before an impartial adjudicator...
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Erez, E., Roberts, J.V. (2014). Victim Input at Sentencing. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_328
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_328
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