Assignment: Victim Participation in the Judicial Process/Replies

VICTIM PARTICIPATION IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

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WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT

CRYSTAL DILLANES-GUZMAN

CRJS-4203 VICTIMOLOGY

PROFESSOR TONY SMITH

22 MARCH 2020

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VICTIM PARTICIPATION IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

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The judicial role that I chose for this assignment is Prosecution. This role is affected by victim

participation in many ways. For example, the victims can be subjected to intimidation, and this

can cause them to back out of testifying. They can be offered protection but even then, they may

choose to walk away. He or she can withdraw their statement, this is called a recant and it

happens more than most people realize. Even with negative effects, there are also positive ones.

According to Karmen (2020) “well-briefed, self-confident witnesses (victims) lead to a lower

dismissal rate and a higher conviction rate.” This is how prosecutors are judged.

The negative and positive effects of victim participation can not only affect the prosecution but

also the victims. The intimidation which leads to a recant can possibly put the victim back into

the same situation. For example, an abused wife would possibly go back to her abuser because

she is more scared of losing her life than getting beat. There is no guarantee that the victim is

completely safe after he or she recants. The treat of danger is always there, the victim must way

the outcome of both situations and chose the best for him or her. The positive effect for a victim

helping prosecution, I feel, outweighs the negative. Getting the conviction is a plus for any

victim. Victim participation can contribute to providing factual information, getting social

support and gives the victim(s) a greater purpose. They feel the closer they need when they can

participate in the conviction of the offender. It’s a relief when it's over and they can try and

rebuild their life.

The case that I chose is called Prosecutor: Assault on Wife ‘Worse Case of Domestic Abuse.’ A

women’s husband, named Keith McGill, had “beat, kicked, burned, slashed and whipped his wife

and tried to pull out her tongue during an assault at the couple’s rural residence” (Tuttle, 2011).

Her 10-year-old son who was witnessing the abuse, ran to a neighbor’s house for help. The

neighbor was able to call 911, go over and get the husband outside, distract him, while another

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VICTIM PARTICIPATION IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

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neighbor got the wife out of the home and to the hospital. When the police officers arrived,

McGill was still outside, covered in blood. He was arrested immediately.

The victim, whom they never name, was interviewed not only at the hospital but once again at

the trail. She told the same story each time. McGill came home, crashed through the door, and

began punching and kicking her. It didn’t end there. Mr. McGill struck her with a lamp that tore

her scalp, burned her with a cigarette, beat her with a belt, chocked and attacked her with a knife.

The knife missed her neck but slashed her chin. (Tuttle, 2011). She stated that she had no doubt

that he would kill her. Her testimony ultimately leads to a conviction for four felony accounts of

aggravated assault and four felony accounts of assault with a weapon. According to Tuttle (2012)

“the wife did not attend the sentencing hearing, but her doctor wrote a letter to the court stating

that her injuries were severe and will probably result in her death in a few years.” The judge

stated that the attack was a horrible violent event and sentenced McGill to 50 years in prison.

A victim impact statement is a document about losses and injuries used by the judge in court to

help determine the severity of the sentence meted out to the person convicted of a crime

(Karmen, 2020). With these statements the judge will learn about the physical, emotional, and

financial effects of the offense on, not only the injured but their families as well. In the case I

chose, the victim did not attend the sentencing hearing to do the victim impact statement. I

believe that her decision not to attend didn’t affect the outcome. Due to the severity of the crime,

McGill would still be given a significant amount of time in prison. The fact that her doctor did

write a statement, in my opinion, helped with the judge’s decision. The fact that victim impact

statements can be highly emotional, not all victims can do it, and that is okay. The most

important outcome is for the victim to have some type of closure and that the offender is locked

up.

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VICTIM PARTICIPATION IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

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VICTIM PARTICIPATION IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS

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References

Karmen, A. (2020). Crime victims: An introduction to victimology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Tuttle, G (2011) Prosecutor: Assault on Wife 'Worst Case of Domestic Abuse. Retrieved From https://billingsgazette.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/prosecutor- assault-on-wife-worst-case-of-domestic-abuse/article_e0a3088c-05af-524d-a9f6- b5599cc815f5.html

Tuttle, G (2012) Yellowstone County Man Gets 50 Years in Prison for Atacking Wife.

Retrieved From https://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/yellowstone-county- man-gets-years-in-prison-for-attacking-wife/article_90518212-1a04-11e2-9396- 001a4bcf887a.html

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