Barbarians at the Gates? A Reply to the Critics of the Victims' Rights Amendment

Until we have further analysis of the data, lack of firm proof that Payne increased the number of death penalty convictions should count heavily against Professor Bandes and others who argue against admitting victim impact statements because of their effects on juries.31 9 Allowing surviving family members to make impact statements clearly improves the perceived fairness of the process32° and we have no proof that juries have been influenced, let alone unfairly influenced.