I think victim impact statements have to be one of the hardest statements to write. You're essentially given an essay assignment that outlines your restrictions, how you have to write it and the time frame that you have. You're trying to compress your life experience into a victim impact statement. There are so many rules around the writing of it that it becomes more and more impersonal as you go along. It has to be tailored to the courts, so you're not really hearing the true victim impact statement, because it's been vetted by the Crown. It's been edited so many times that it becomes such a cold and sterile experience.
I think that where victim impact statements are concerned, they should hold more weight in court. I know that's not possible, but for the amount of writing that people do and the amount of heart that people put into their statements.... They believe that it's going to impact sentencing. Again, it's sort of a misconstrued statement. You think that you're writing for your loved one and it's going to make a difference but, really, all that matters is case law.