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Should the rights of the victim take precedence over the rights of the accused in felony cases?

7 Answers

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  • 2 decades ago
    Favorite Answer

    That's a really vague question. In terms of the criminal justice system, the accused has all the rights; the right to a fair trial, the right to an attorney (since a felony by definition can include prison time of more than one year), the right to confront his accuser, the right of presumption of innocence.

    The victim has no more rights than any other citizen, except maybe the right to speak during the sentencing.

    Source(s): The Constitution
  • 2 decades ago

    The victims should have at least as many rights as the criminal. But unfortunately, that is almost never the case. A rape victim can be asked if she's ever had sex, how many partners she's had, what she was wearing when she was raped, all kinds of things to try to "prove" she deserved the rape, yet if the rapist has served time for rape before, that cannot be brought up. In the US, "justice" is definitely in favor of the criminal's rights, not the victim's.

  • James
    Lv 7
    2 decades ago

    To an extent, they should. For instance, a victim should be made to be afraid for their life because of an accused's right to bail. But an accused should not be convicted out of hand just because the victim says so.

  • C_Bar
    Lv 7
    2 decades ago

    No. Your question is very general, and so it is hard to know what you have in mind. But in general, it does not nagatively affect any right of a victim to give the accused a fair trial (even though you sometimes hear differently.)

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  • 2 decades ago

    If you are meaning after someone has been convicted, the convict might as well be concidered a non-American because they aren't allowed to vote or own a firearm.

    One of the major things that bugged me about those who were rushing to that murderer stanley williams was they didn't offer any comfort to the families of his victims. The focus after the trial should be on the victims not on a piece of human debris.

  • 2 decades ago

    No, because the accused is as equally innocent as is the victim until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

  • 2 decades ago

    I would think it depends on the situation. But the accused are innocent until proven guilty and they have rights too. I would think there would have to be a compromise.

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