Exam 6: Victim Rights

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The Oklahoma City bombing trial, which dealt with the horrific act of domestic terrorism that occurred on April 19, 1995, had significant implications for victim rights in the United States. The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, carried out by Timothy McVeigh, resulted in the deaths of 168 people and injuries to hundreds more. It was one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in the United States prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The trial of Timothy McVeigh, and to a lesser extent his co-conspirator Terry Nichols, brought victim rights into the national spotlight for several reasons:

1. **Victim Impact Statements**: The trial was one of the first high-profile cases where victim impact statements were widely recognized and used to convey the emotional and physical toll of the crime on survivors and the families of the deceased. These statements were given during the sentencing phase and played a role in the jury's decision to recommend the death penalty for McVeigh.

2. **Public Interest and Media Coverage**: Due to the magnitude of the crime, there was significant public interest and media coverage. This attention helped to highlight the experiences and rights of victims in the criminal justice process, including their right to be informed, to be present at the trial, and to be heard at appropriate points in the proceedings.

3. **Closed-circuit Television for Survivors**: For the first time in a U.S. criminal trial, closed-circuit television was used to allow survivors and victims' families to watch the proceedings from a remote location. This was done to accommodate the large number of victims who could not be present in the courtroom but wished to observe the trial. This set a precedent for future cases, acknowledging the importance of victims' access to the process.

4. **Legislation Influence**: The Oklahoma City bombing trial helped to influence the passage of legislation aimed at protecting and expanding victims' rights. For example, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 included provisions for victims of terrorism, and the Oklahoma City bombing was a catalyst for these provisions.

5. **Victims' Rights Groups**: The trial also galvanized victims' rights groups to advocate for more comprehensive laws and policies to protect victims' rights at both the state and federal levels. This advocacy has led to the establishment of more robust victims' rights legislation across the country.

In summary, the Oklahoma City bombing trial had a profound impact on the recognition and implementation of victim rights in the United States. It brought attention to the need for victims to have a voice in the criminal justice process, influenced legislation, and set precedents for how victims are accommodated during high-profile trials.

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In his dissent to the Supreme Court's decision in South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989), Justice Antonin Scalia commented on the majority's ruling that the use of a murder victim's personal characteristics as aggravating evidence in the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Justice Scalia disagreed with the majority opinion, which held that the prosecutor's comments about the victim's personal characteristics (such as his religious activities and community service) during the sentencing phase were irrelevant to the defendant's blameworthiness and thus could not be considered in determining the appropriate punishment for the defendant, Benjamin Gathers.

Scalia's dissent criticized the majority for creating what he saw as an arbitrary rule that evidence of a victim's character could not be admitted during the sentencing phase unless it directly related to the circumstances of the crime. He argued that the majority's decision was not grounded in the Constitution and that it unduly restricted the state's ability to present evidence that might demonstrate the harm caused by the defendant's actions. Scalia believed that the jury should be allowed to see a full picture of the crime, including the impact on the victim and the community, in order to make an informed decision about the appropriate sentence.

Scalia's dissent reflects his originalist approach to constitutional interpretation, emphasizing the text of the Constitution and the intent of its framers, rather than evolving standards of decency that the majority opinion relied upon. He was concerned that the majority's decision would lead to further limitations on the type of evidence that could be considered in capital sentencing, which could undermine the justice system's ability to impose punishments that fit the severity of the crime.