Sexual aSSault LEGAL ADVOCACY MANUAL - Texas Association ...

vi. Victim Impact Statement
Functions
After indictment, (p. 46, Charging Process) all victims of sexual assault, or their close relatives if they
are deceased, have the right to provide a detailed account of the emotional, physical, psychological, and
financial impacts that the sexual assault had on them. The right is guaranteed by Tex. Code Crim. Proc.
Arts. 56.02(a)(13) and 56.03. The Victim Impact Statement (“VIS”) is one of the ways survivors can
participate most directly in the justice system.
The purpose of the VIS is to allow victims to lend a perspective on the crime that no one else can.
The jury cannot consider the impact on the victim when determining whether the defendant is guilty,
because they are limited to the evidence admitted during trial. However, officials will consider the VIS
at three different times after a conviction:
• Sentencing: The prosecutor will consider it when negotiating a plea bargain with the defendant, and
the judge will consider the VIS when deciding on an appropriate sentence. (p. 55, Plea Bargaining)
• Parole: If the attacker becomes eligible for parole, the VIS is one of the items the Board of Pardons
and Paroles will consider when making its decision. (p. 65, Parole)
• Criminal Record: The VIS also becomes part of the attacker’s record in prison or, if he or she is
put under community supervision (probation), part of the record maintained by the community
supervision officer. (p. 63, Community Supervision)
In addition, one portion of the VIS form is also the survivor’s ticket to stay informed about parole and
release proceedings during the attacker’s incarceration. If survivors would like to stay informed about
those proceedings, they must complete the portion of the VIS form called the Confidential Information
Sheet. Survivors may complete the Confidential Information Sheet without completing the rest of the
VIS, but in that case officials will not learn about how the assault affected the survivor personally, which
could benefit the perpetrator in later proceedings on his or her release from prison.
Process
Although the VIS usually does not come into play until after the prosecution—during sentencing and
parole proceedings—the victim must submit it to the prosecutor’s office at the very beginning of the
prosecution. Within 10 days after the defendant’s indictment, the Victim Assistance Coordinator from the
prosecutor’s office should provide the victim with a VIS form to complete. Once the survivor completes
the VIS form, she or he returns it to the Victim Assistance Coordinator, who then forwards it to the
court (although the judge can only read the VIS if the defendant is convicted). It is very important to
be completely truthful in the VIS, because if the defendant is convicted, he or she is allowed to present
evidence during the sentencing phase to challenge its accuracy.
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