The Role of the Victim Is Vital to the Administration of Justice
Our criminal justice system defines crime as an offense against the state, not against the victim. You can see this in the way criminal cases are titled: State v. Defendant. Crime is defined as “law breaking” rather than “victim harming.” As a result, victims are often left out of the criminal justice process. Crime, however, is not an offense against the state, but against real people. The victim’s role in the criminal justice process is an essential ingredient in justice. After all, it is the victim, not the state, who has the ability to meaningfully bestow mercy on his or her offender. When our justice system gives victims appropriate standing, the offender’s moral responsibility becomes clear. Appreciating the wrong committed and its consequences can open the door for repentance and genuine transformation.
The Biblical Call to Serve Victims
Justice Fellowship calls for practical, emotional, and spiritual assistance to victims of crime. In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37), Jesus made it clear that crime victims are our neighbors; that it is our responsibility to bind their wounds and care for them until they are healed. Victims may sustain physical injury, monetary loss, and emotional suffering. The crime may disrupt their lives temporarily—or for as long as they live. In addition to physical and monetary needs, victims often need help regaining an appropriate sense of control over their lives. Victims also need to be vindicated—declared “not guilty” of being victimized.
How Our Justice System Can Serve Victims
One of the many ways victims can be served is through victim-offender programs (called reconciliation, mediation, or dialogue services) that provide an opportunity for victims to meet their offenders. Victims are able to express their true feelings about what occurred, ask questions of the offender, and suggest ways that the offender can begin to make things right. According to assessments of several programs, victims’ goals were to recover losses, help the offenders stay out of trouble, and have a real part in the criminal justice process. This is something to be encouraged, but not rushed. When the victim and offender are ready, however, the opportunity for healing can be miraculous.
Justice Fellowship calls for greater standing for victims in the criminal justice process. Many states have passed victims’ rights constitutional amendments and other victims’ rights bills, giving victims the ability to present a victim impact statement at sentencing hearings, to meet with their offender, to collect restitution, and other opportunities to play a significant role in the criminal justice process.
On April 25, 2013, Justice Fellowship's Senior Policy Advisor Heather Rice-Minus joined Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA), and Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA) at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol Building prior to the Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee's hearing on the Victims' Rights Amendment. Heather addressed why advancing victims' standing in the criminal justice system is consistent with Justice Fellowship's goals to both respect victims and transform offenders.
GO DEEPER
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
GovTrack
VIDEO: Subcomittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Hearing on the Victims’ Rights Amendment
Thursday, April 25, 2013
National Victims’ Constitutional Amendment Passage
Founded by Congressmen Ted Poe and Jim Costa