Source: (2009) Law and Contemporary Problems. 72(2):227-231.
One of the benefits of O’Hara’s and Robbins’ proposal to give greater
power and choice to victims is that, for those who choose VOM and for those
who choose to exercise their choice in sentencing, it creates a quasi-ceremonial
space that doesn’t currently exist. Some participants to this symposium have
made the noncomplimentary comment that victim impact statements run the risk of becoming a “ritualized public performance.â€11 But it may be worth taking
this risk to reap the greater benefit that a victim might receive from having
something rather than nothing. In creating a process that restores status and
voice and the potential for a heartfelt apology, we are on the first step of
transforming the justice system into a more healing space. Under the current
system, in which the victim is so often shut out and shut up, there is no ritual
and therefore, no healing. I applaud O’Hara and Robbins for their
contributions in helping to push the system toward creating those “safe, if not
sacred spaces†wherein the work of apology, forgiveness, and reconciliation can
begin. (excerpt)
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