Criminal Law Trend Aggravates Victims' Pain

A current fad in criminal law pushes “victim’s rights”, including victims appearing in tears at sentencing hearings, and before parole boards to bewail their loss. One lady whose famiy member was murdered bewailed her having to spend years at trials, sentencing, parole boards. Sad indeed. She could instead have been learning to forgive, so she could get on with her life.

By promoting this victim involvement, we promote a revenge factor in the criminal process. We lose sight of the great principles that it is the state’s, not the victim’s business to punish. More seriously, we lend credence to the view that it is almost a civic duty for the victim to pursue the criminal through the process to achieve something called “closure”.

How far more blessed is Corry Ten Boom’s forgiving, described in "The Hiding Place". She survived a Nazi prison camp and made presentations on forgiveness after the war. A man came up to thank her after one of her presentations and she recognized him as an SS guard who had perpetrated the atrocities that led to her sister’s death in Auschwitz. Corry could not bring herself to take the man’s proffered hand until she prayed God to give her strength to do so. Afterwards she felt a flood of relief through the prayer and forgiving process. Isn’t that why Christ taught, “Of you it is required to forgive all me” and “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.”

Of course we seek restitution where available, but we must not invite victims to prolong, re-live, and renew their agony over and over again in the criminal process. We only exacerbate the original injury by doing this.