It is true that victims of crime seldom have expert knowledge; but that's not why they have been brought into criminal sentencing.
The commission of a crime of violence injures the community and the specific victim. And the punishment for the crime is meant to restore the community and the victim, as best can be, by showing solidarity with the victim and repugnant feelings at the crime.
That's why the victim must be heard.
3 comments:
Amen.
"victims of crime ought not to be heard to speak on sentencing because their suffering, while tragic, in no way gives them expertise in criminology or law."
This fellow is just another example of why this conservative isn't terribly interested in what many so-called "experts" have to say. Criminal justice, and justice in general, should never have become the playground of experts. Lawyers and judges have taken justice away from the people it was meant to serve. Most Canadians, probably close to 90%, cannot afford justice because they cannot afford the services of a lawyer. The law has been made so complicated that people just don't bother with it anymore. Justice and the courts that are supposed to administer it have come into such ill-repute that they cannot see it anymore. I say that is because the club that can afford justice gets it and the rest of us are simply no longer heard by the courts except on criminal charges. The echo chamber of judges, lawyers, and the few well-to-do purchasers of their services never hears the complaints of those outside that tiny cabal.
Most "victims rights" group are a stealth police lobbying arm for "tougher laws" based on human suffering. It's disgusting to watch if you've seen it from the inside.
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