Victim Impact Laws and the Parole Process in the United States: Balancing Victim and Inmate Rights and Interests

In recent years, many states have amended their parole laws to enable victim impact statements to be used in the parole process. Few state laws provide clear guidelines detailing the nature and scope of victim statements, how and when victims are to be notified of their rights, and how parole authorities are to utilize such information. This paper analyzes state parole laws and the procedural and substantive inadequacies which can result from the failure of legislatures to articulate complete rules on victim statements in the parole process.