If you state this out loud in court, it will be another opportunity for the offender to contact you in the future. The offender will be provided copies of all letters submitted. This includes your physical address, mailing address, email address and phone number. Don’t put personal, identifying information in your letter and do not say it verbally in court.Please do not get descriptive about any harm you would like to see imposed. Don’t describe what you want to happen to the offender in prison.Don’t use unsuitable language, as it will diminish the effectiveness of your statement.The blame has already been placed on the offender, so now is the time to talk about what you have been experiencing through your loss. Your goal is to express your hurt and your pain, not to blame. Don’t directly express your anger toward the court or the offender.Do have an alternate person that can read your statement in case you cannot finish.If this occurs, you can read directly from your statement. You may think you know what you want to say but when the time comes, your emotions could take over and your train of thought is lost. Do write out your statement in advance.More often than not this is allowed, but any visual aids you utilize will need permission from the court first. Do ask permission if a picture is part of your statement. You can still say what you need regarding the offender through the judge. If this is something you want to do, ask permission from the judge first. You may want to talk directly to the offender. Do address the judge, or paroling authority, when you speak.The life I had before he took my life away. I can’t sleep most nights without nightmares of my attacker. When I drive past the place that this all happened I try not to shake in fear. It hurts emotionally and physically to even make it to work in the morning. I used to love to run, until my attacker took that away from me. I still have to go to the doctor for physical therapy and they fear that I still won’t be able to walk the same. Since I was assaulted I have lost the full function of my right leg. If I don’t tell myself that I simply can’t get out of bed. Using descriptive words can help people form an image of what you are saying.Įvery morning when I wake up, I have to remind myself that my attacker won’t be able to hurt me today. While nobody can truly understand what you are feeling, you can help others identify with your trauma by using feeling evoking words and phrases. Your goal is to help the court feel your trauma. Even though guidelines are typically given to you before sentencing, and there is much flexibility in how you present your statement, there are things you will need to take into consideration. Victim Impact statements are unique to you and people have various ways of expressing how crime has affected them. The above guidelines do not cover the totality of the impact of crime, but may be used as a starting point.
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