The many guises of victim impact evidence and effects on jurors' Judgments

Victims of crime are frequently given the opportunity to describe the impact of that crime at the sentencing hearings of their offenders. This information (typically referred to as victim impact evidence) may convey the physical, psychological, and/or financial impact of the crime on victims or survivors, victims' or survivors' opinions about the crime and the offender, and, in murder cases, information about the personal qualities of the deceased. There is heated debate about the use of victim impact statements in capital cases: proponents reason that jurors should know the extent of the harm caused by the offender; critics argue that this evidence infuses the trial with highly emotional and prejudicial information. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of various forms of victim impact evidence on mock jurors in a capital case. Results showed that different forms of victim impact evidence exert subtle and differential influences on jurors' sentiments about the victim and the victim's survivors.