Throughout the centuries, crimes have been relatively a constant changing aspect of society, whether it is to include newer crimes, modify or alter existing crimes, or completely decriminalize certain actions and behaviors. One aspect that is fairly newer in society, however, are victim rights. While in ancient civilizations a true “victim’s just system” was in place, there were no authorities to turn for help in enforcing the law. Victims and their families were left to fend for themselves and seek their own form of punishment for the crimes committed against them. During the middle ages, a transition began from a victim’s justice system to a criminal’s justice system, where concern shifted from justice for the victim to protecting the rights
…show more content…
This transition began throughout the middle ages, where two factors are noted as the contribution to the end of the victim justice system. According to Doerner and Lab, “the first change was the move by feudal barons to lay a claim to any compensation offenders paid their victims” (5). It was an effort made to provide rulers with more wealth and was therefore accomplished by claiming that criminal acts were made against the state, rather than the victim, ultimately reducing the victim’s role in the justice system. The second factor that contributed to the diminished position of the victim was the transition in society from a more well-connected family network to a depersonalized community as whole due to the start of the Industrial Revolution. “As the Middles Ages drew to a close, the Industrial Revolution created a demand for larger urbanized communities. People took jobs in the new industries, leaving the rural areas and relocating cities. They settled into cramped quarters, surrounded by strangers…The interpersonal ties that once bound people together had vanished” (Doerner and Lab 5). There was no longer concern in seeking justice for those who were victimized because many of these victims were ultimately on their own and had no relationships with neighbors or family. This further shifted the victim …show more content…
This effort drew much resistance when a Twenty-Sixth Amendment solely focusing on victims rights was proposed and quickly rejected by many. Upon this resistance, an informal network was created by multiple victim advocacy group representatives for sharing ideas and information and in shifting their goal from achieving VRAs at the state level rather than the federal. The network was called the National Victims’ Constitutional Amendment Network (NVCAN). Targeting states was ideal for many reasons, according to Doerner and Lab, by stating that “First, state VRAs would generate greater interest and more local support. Second, even though many states already had victim rights statutes on the books, there was no way to enforce these provisions. A state VRA would reinforce these arrangements. Finally, because state constitutions already protected criminals, it was reasonable to extend the same courtesy to crime victims” (156). NVCAN has also introduced the idea of a Miranda Card model of Victim Rights, where police can distribute the information among victims during the investigation so that they may be fully aware of their rights. A few examples of the victim rights are: “be treated with dignity and respect, be notified of all critical proceedings
This transition began throughout the middle ages, where two factors are noted as the contribution to the end of the victim justice system. According to Doerner and Lab, “the first change was the move by feudal barons to lay a claim to any compensation offenders paid their victims” (5). It was an effort made to provide rulers with more wealth and was therefore accomplished by claiming that criminal acts were made against the state, rather than the victim, ultimately reducing the victim’s role in the justice system. The second factor that contributed to the diminished position of the victim was the transition in society from a more well-connected family network to a depersonalized community as whole due to the start of the Industrial Revolution. “As the Middles Ages drew to a close, the Industrial Revolution created a demand for larger urbanized communities. People took jobs in the new industries, leaving the rural areas and relocating cities. They settled into cramped quarters, surrounded by strangers…The interpersonal ties that once bound people together had vanished” (Doerner and Lab 5). There was no longer concern in seeking justice for those who were victimized because many of these victims were ultimately on their own and had no relationships with neighbors or family. This further shifted the victim …show more content…
This effort drew much resistance when a Twenty-Sixth Amendment solely focusing on victims rights was proposed and quickly rejected by many. Upon this resistance, an informal network was created by multiple victim advocacy group representatives for sharing ideas and information and in shifting their goal from achieving VRAs at the state level rather than the federal. The network was called the National Victims’ Constitutional Amendment Network (NVCAN). Targeting states was ideal for many reasons, according to Doerner and Lab, by stating that “First, state VRAs would generate greater interest and more local support. Second, even though many states already had victim rights statutes on the books, there was no way to enforce these provisions. A state VRA would reinforce these arrangements. Finally, because state constitutions already protected criminals, it was reasonable to extend the same courtesy to crime victims” (156). NVCAN has also introduced the idea of a Miranda Card model of Victim Rights, where police can distribute the information among victims during the investigation so that they may be fully aware of their rights. A few examples of the victim rights are: “be treated with dignity and respect, be notified of all critical proceedings