In most criminal jurisdictions of the world (if not all), it is the state (i.e. the government) that prosecutes crimes. If a crime is committed against an individual, the government steps in to prosecute that crime on behalf of the victim against the assailant, the duty of the victim during the prosecution is to testify or appear as a witness during the proceedings.
After these criminal proceedings, the victims are given the right to speak or to be heard in court and the statement rendered by the victim is called a Victim impact statement. A victim impact statement is totally different from an oral testimony rendered by the victim in court during the proceedings. The victim’s testimony is taken during the proceedings as a form of examination in chief or cross-examination but the victim’s impact statement is taken after the proceedings, during sentencing.
A victim impact statement is therefore a written or oral statement made as part of the judicial legal process which allows victims of a crime ample opportunity to speak during the sentencing of the convicted person or at subsequent parole hearing.
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This is an avenue where a victim is given the chance to say whatever he had to say to the assailant; cuss out at the assailant if the victim wants to go that route and as well say whatever he needs to say to the court. The victim is at liberty to say anything even if they are relevant or not to the case; the victim can narrate how much suffering the action of the assailant has brought upon them and their family and the victim can as well tell the court what punishment they would want on the victim before they will be satisfied.
The primary purpose of the statement is to allow the person or persons most directly affected by the crime to address the court during the decision-making process i.e. during the sentencing. It gives the victim the chance to inform the court of the harm suffered by the victim so as to help in the decision-making process of the court in punishing the assailant so that a commensurate punishment will be awarded against the assailant to the satisfaction of the victim. The person making the statement is allowed to discuss specifically the direct harm or trauma they have suffered and problems that have resulted from the crime such as loss of income, loss of means of livelihood etc.
A victim impact statement is as well therapeutically and psychologically recommended to help in the healing, rehabilitation process and emotional recovery of the victim since it gives the victim ample opportunity to look the assailant in the eye and lash out or cuss out at the assailant without the fear of getting harmed again by the assailant.
When the victim is dead or the victim died as a result of the crime for instance in a crime like murder, the victim’s closest family member like the wife, or the husband, father, mother, son etc is called upon to give the victim impact statement in place of the victim.
A victim impact statement is an important part of criminal proceedings in most jurisdictions of the world like the USA, the UK, Canada etc but unfortunately, it appears it is not in practice or adopted in Nigeria. The Nigerian courts should look for a way to adopt it as well as its importance and benefits cannot be over-emphasized especially in the victim’s rehabilitation and healing process.