Moral Truth and Compounded Trauma

Abstract

This article examines the impact of acquittal of homicide defendants on the families of the homicide victim(s), illustrating how the families' trauma was framed and complicated by the criminal justice process. Homicide trials had particularly compounded their trauma because to manage and partially repair the shattered reality wrought by the homicide, the families were compelled to construct moral and causal narratives about the event. Yet, defense counter-narratives conflicted with those of the families, and the acquittal validated those as truth. This fractured the families' repair work, denied their claims to victimhood, and prolonged their bereavement indefinitely.A number of studies have described the traumatizing impact of homicide on the families and close friends of homicide victims who may thus themselves be deemed "secondary victims" of homicide. Research has also illuminated how the criminal justice process can frustrate, complicate, and restrict the grieving process of secondary victims of homicide (

An Ecological Review of Homicide Bereavement’s Risk Factors: Implications for Future Research

“…Various studies have indicated that a homicide’s characteristics have an influence on HB. The following homicide-related factors have been reported as HB risk factors: close familial relations with the victim (Alisic, 2018; Alves-Costa, Hamilton-Giachritsis, & Halligan, 2021; Johnsen & Dyregrov, 2016; Kaplow et al, 2021; Matthews & Marwit, 2004; Moss & Raz, 2001; Ogata et al, 2011; Soydas et al, 2020); close domestic relations with both the victim and killer (Alisic, 2018; Alisic, Groot, Snetselaar, Stroeken, & van de Putte, 2017; Clements & Burgess, 2002; Hardesty et al, 2008; Kapardis et al, 2017; Kaplan et al, 2001; Stanley et al, 2019; Steeves & Parker, 2007); continuing bonds with victim (Moss & Raz, 2001); the killer being the bereaved person’s parent (Kapardis et al, 2017); interfamilial homicide (Jackson et al, 2021); the victim and bereaved person belonging to a racial minority (Douglas et al, 2021; Kaplow et al, 2021; Kassing et al, 2021; McDevitt-Murphy et al, 2012; Williams et al, 2012); being the parent of a child who was killed at a young age (Matthews & Marwit, 2004; Murphy, Johnson, Chung, et al, 2003; Murphy, Johnson, Wu, et al, 2003; Nzewi et al, 2002); the homicide scene being the bereaved person’s home (Alisic, Groot, Snetselaar, Stroeken, et al, 2017; Alisic, Groot, Snetselaar, Stroeken, & van de Putte, 2017); children hearing or witnessing the killing (Clements & Burgess, 2002); the homicide resulting in multiple victims (Huggins & Hinkson, 2022; Kaplow et al, 2021; Lenferink, de Keijser, et al, 2017); the homicide being related to terror circumstances (Dyregrov et al, 2016; Johnsen & Dyregrov, 2016; Pfeffer et al, 2007); the killer’s criminal process resulting in acquittal (Thiel, 2016); and the killing being an unresolved homicide, known as a cold case (…”

“…The studies reported recurring secondary victimization in the bereaved person’s interactions with both formal and informal institutions, which add further complexity to their challenge of coping with HB. This secondary victimization seems to stem from experiencing insensitive and unsupportive interactions with exo-level institutions, leaving the bereaved individuals feeling marginalized, stigmatized, and lonely (Alves-Costa, Hamilton-Giachritsis, & Halligan, 2021; Armour, 2002; Eisma et al, 2019; Englebrecht, 2011; Englebrecht et al, 2014; Gevoski et al, 2013; Huggins & Hinkson, 2022; King, 2004; Malone, 2007; Mastrocinque et al, 2015; Ng et al, 2020; Reed & Caraballo, 2022; Reed et al, 2020; Stretesky et al, 2010; Tasker, 2021; Thiel, 2016). In addition, and similar to micro and meso studies reporting the importance of social support, exo-level studies also noted the importance of social support in both informal and formal institutions to an individual’s ability to cope with HB (Alves-Costa, Hamilton-Giachritsis, & Halligan, 2021; Bailey, Sharma, et al, 2013; Bottomley et al, 2017; Douglas et al, 2021; Wågø et al, 2017).…”