Task Force On Victim Of Crime

In America’s society, there are an estimated 1.2 million violent crimes committed every year. Adults are not the only individuals that are committing violent crimes. Juveniles are estimated to be involved in twenty-five percent of all violent crimes. Along with these crimes comes the decision on whether these juveniles should be tried as minors or adults, which has created an immense controversy around the United States. Certain juveniles are tried as adults because they must be held accountable for their actions, it brings justice to their victims, and because those individuals have a moral sense.

Prior to the American Revolution, no distinct American legal system existed. Each colony operated independently. Criminal codes, punishment, and courts varied from colony to colony. By the beginning of the Revolution, reformers had already wanted to establish a more unified and professional legal system. When the founding fathers crafted the Constrictions in 1787, and the Bill of Rights in 1791, they wanted to provide uniformity, but they also wanted to protect the liberties of the new-found colonies from the new federal and state governments. The United States Constitution

At the local level, many ways that advocates are determined is based on the jurisdiction because it is common that at the local level that advocacy programs go through the court system. In South Carolina, the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office runs a program for Charleston and Berkley County. This program aims to aid in handling victims and the crimes they have gone through ("Victim & witness programs: Ninth judicial circuit office of the solicitor," n.d.). Whereas the Army dealt with a softer approach in aiding victims, this program’s main objective is to help the victim while going through the criminal justice system in courts. They aim to educate them in the process of court and stand by them to make sure they are treated justly with a familiarity and understanding of their rights ("Victim & witness programs: Ninth judicial circuit office of the solicitor," n.d.). The program is made to ease tensions and to create a smoother judicial process since the trial period is usually

The first point of criticism against victim participation in restorative justice processes arises from scepticism about an apology to the victim as a way of dealing with criminal matters. The perception sometimes exists as to it simply being a way to get away with the crime.106 Members of the public should thus be educated to understand that restorative justice is more than a mere saying sorry, but in the context of victim offender mediation or family group conferences it rather affords the victim the opportunity to confront the child offender with the real and human cost of his or her criminal actions. Another concern deals with the possible secondary victimisation of the victim in the case where the offender pretends

Going back to the 1790’s the Federal Government have provided the accused with protection. Even though they are being charged with a crime including felony crime this does not give the system the right to do the accused any kind of way. Therefore, the Bill of Rights protects the accused from unfair and unjust treatment. This paper went over some brief history regarding the Bill of Rights and how the 6th Amendment is what it is today, reviewed the meaning and purpose of the 6th Amendment to a speedy trail, as well as discussed the considerations to whether a trail has been

Within the judicial and criminal justice systems, restorative justice is seen as a forward moving process in regards to the way in which the sentencing of offenders is handled (Britto & Reimund, 2013). Restorative justice works to focus on the needs of both the victim and the offender but incorporates the community as well as those who support both the victim and offender (Britto & Reimund, 2013). The approach of restorative justice in not simply a means by which society responds to and reduces crime but instead, provides an equivalently valuable social response to crime (Dancig-Rosenberg and Galt, 2013). Furthermore, the restorative approach places emphasis on the personal and relational harms which were caused by the crime while creating space for dialogue concerning the actual damage, whether directly or

As a species, humans can be vengeful and spiteful. Especially when it comes down to the justice and injustice when a wrong has been committed. For instance, on August 5, 2008, Casey Anthony was formerly charged with child neglect and slaughter of her baby. This caused quite the stir up among people who felt Ms. Anthony’s baby will not receive the justice that she deserves due to the fact there was no concrete evidence. Many believed that Casey should receive the death penalty to make up for the loss of her baby’s life because various people thought Casey was the one who allegedly killed her own child. It’s practically a humanly instinct to ask “Eye for an eye?” After a multitude of trials, the jury reached a verdict that Casey Anthony was not

Racial issues are sometimes dismissed as history; they are thought of as issues of the past. People sometimes believe that since the government preaches equality, that most racial issues are resolved. This is not the case in today’s society, as racial issues are still prevalent in everyday life. Not only facing discriminatory practices in the job market, minorities face racism in many different aspects of everyday life. In the world we live in today, people tend to judge a whole group of people based on the actions of only a few. It is ironic that in the country that was founded on immigrants from every corner of the world can have people that discriminate against those that are from different ethnicities than them. There is a significant

In the case of Tara Brown’s murder, various groups of individuals are affected. As well as maintaining principles of fair punishment and deterrence, the criminal justice system has to consider perceptions of the victim’s family (secondary victim), the community’s demand for crime prevention, and the offender’s rights to a fair court hearing. The most likely outcome is imprisonment for Lionel John Patea due to committing an indictable offence. It is important to note that if this was only a case of domestic abuse without murder, it would utilise more time, effort and expenses to come to a resolution. This is due to the different circumstances and degree of abuse that the judge has to assess. Offenders of murder have to face at least 30 years

In many cases, the interests of the victim or his/her family mirror the state’s interests. But in other cases, those interests will diverge. For example, the family of a murder victim may understandably seek revenge in the form of the stiffest sentence possible, such as the death penalty. However, the prosecutor may opt to resolve the case expeditiously with, say, a life sentence. The fact that prosecutors represent the state doesn’t necessarily mean they can do whatever they want with a case and ignore the victim or his/her family. In fact, many states give crime victims specific legal rights, typically including the right to give a victim impact statement at a defendant’s sentencing. That said, it’s true that the prosecution doesn’t always honor victims’ rights. An article in the Houston Press suggests that, at least in one county in Texas, prosecutors are running roughshod over victims’ rights. The article quotes Susan Howley, director of public policy at the National Center for Victims of Crime, recommending safeguards such as requiring the judge to ask prosecutors whether the victim has been informed of a pending plea, or asking a victim to sign a form acknowledging that he/she has been informed of a plea deal.

everyone the right to an attorney, no matter what type of crime it is. Also, Mr. Clarence Gideon

Hawaii and Tennessee are liberal and conservative states respectively because the former has a strong stand on equity among individuals while the later strongly believes in good morals. The criminal victims’ rights were founded in the 1970s due to victim marginalization that existed for a long period (Caplan 224). Montaldo argues that all the fifty states have rules to protect victims during the trial process (“How to Write” 2). These rights ensure the victims are treated fairly during the prosecution process. The criminal victims’ rights of these two states have both similarities and differences, and the states consider themselves liberal and conservative respectively due to their different belief in the role of the government.

While most of the unlawful conviction cases have been widely publicized, the general public remains alert and skeptical on how to properly address this new wave of challenges in our criminal justice system as a by-product of police brutality, junk science, eyewitness misidentification and much more. Limited policy adjustments have been implemented in the existing framework of conducting legal proceeding to indict criminal behaviors, nor have it provided adequate opportunities and resources for victims that fall under the wrongfully acquitted category. Current regulations for have strengths and flaws, which will be disclosed in this research.

It is mostly statutory and it covers specific wrongs that are considered social evils and threats to a community. The state not the victim are the prosecutors also known as a plaintiff. There are three categories for the offenses. There are misdemeanors, Petty offenses, and Felonies. Misdemeanors are not major offenses but they are serious ones. These include things like prostitution and gambling. Offenders of misdemeanors are by a short time in jail or large fines. Felonies are major crimes. There are various felonies that people can commit. These are things like rape, robbery, murder, extortion, kidnapping, and interstate car theft. Murder and robbery are mostly state concerns, bank robbing and drug trafficking are both federal

For many decades, the victim was the forgotten party in the criminal justice system as the main focus was that the perpetrator of a crime should be punished. But the victims of crimes stand poised equally in the scales of justice as the victim is not a passive object but an active component of the whole judicial process. The victim deserves similar level of protection and attention from the court like that of an accused i.e. a victim 's interests need to be balanced vis-à-vis that of accused. Victims of crime go through mental and physical trauma and suffer throughout their lives , as there place in the society changes. A victim is certainly entitled to reparation, restitution and safeguards of his rights and criminal justice would look hollow if justice is not done to the victim of the crime. In recent years, the Legislature and the judiciary have taken gradual steps to develop the necessary principles by which appropriate compensation could be paid to the victims of crimes. The gradual shift in the approach of the Supreme Court is a positive sign but other organs i.e. the government and the legislature have to make conscious efforts to consider the rights of the victims.