What do you think of victim's statements?

I never thought of it before, but what you say is true. But I don't want to get rid of victim's statements either. I feel like courts should consider what a criminal's actions have cost.

Every human life must be as valuable as another, or none are valuable. It is a basic belief that a human life has value, regardless of their status in life. I think families want the opportunity to publicly express their grief, maybe to sway the court but possibly also as a release. In some cases where the defense has been particularly adept at downplaying the crime of the accused, it may be that a jury or a judge needs to hear these details, to continually put a human face to the victim and drive home the horrible nature of the crime. That said, in every case the jury must be reminded that a human life was taken, and that the only way for us all to remain free, safe and for the rule of law to survive is for justice to be served equally.