Eliciting An Emotional Response: An Analysis of Revenge and the Criminal Justice System

Daniel Johnson, Florida State University

Abstract

This essay analyzes the role of revenge, if any, in the criminal justice system today. In particular it focuses on the propriety of victim impact statements, predominately in relation to a defendant's opportunity to produce mitigating evidence at trial. Through the course of the evaluation, the paper looks at the psychological effects, both positive and negative, of our current criminal justice system in relation to other, revenge-based systems.