Assignment 1: Victims’ Rights

The death penalty is one of the most controversial topics in the criminal justice system. In the US criminal justice system, the government represents the victim. At the time of sentencing, many states allow victim impact statements. There are additional issues to consider in the application of the death penalty. Some of these issues are race, age, and cost.

Use the Argosy University Online Library resources to research the role of the victims in sentencing a defendant.

Submission Details:

By Saturday, June 27, 2015, in a minimum of 250 words, post your responses to the following topics to this Discussion Area.

• Discuss what you learned, focusing on such topics as racial disparity, juveniles, and victim impact statements. Be sure to cite your sources of information in the APA style.
• Describe a specific case you learned about in the news where victims' rights figured prominently (either in a positive or in a negative way).

By Wednesday, July 1, 2015, respond to at least two of your classmates' posts.

• As you read your classmates' posts, use critical thinking and consider a different perspective. Identify some aspect of victims' rights that you had not previously thought of.
• Is there anything about victims' rights that a fellow student posted that you disagree with?
• Ask your classmates questions to challenge their perspectives.

Discussion Grading Criteria and Rubric

All discussion assignments in this course will be graded using a rubric. This assignment is worth 40 points. Download the discussion rubric and carefully read it to understand the expectations.