[dennis in se pa]

What good do victim impact statements do in a court of law? If one person kills another, for example, how is it any better or worse if the victim had friends/relatives that are emotionally or otherwise impacted by the occurrence? To me it adds to the "theater" aspects of justice. If a victim has 20 people vs 1 person present a victim impact statement, does it matter? Should it? Is it meant to make those remaining feel better somehow? The facts are the facts. They should be pertinent to the case.