<P> In civil cases, a victim impact statement may be used to determine how much is awarded to the plaintiff . </P> <P> The first such statement in the United States was presented in 1976 in Fresno, California, and was passed as law in California in 1982, because of Doris Tate's concern that any members of the Manson family cult that killed her daughter, Sharon Tate, in 1969 might obtain parole . </P> <P> In 1982, the Final Report of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime recommended that "judges allow for, and give appropriate weight to, input at sentencing from victims of violent crime ." In 1992, the United States Attorney General released 24 recommendations to strengthen the criminal justice system's treatment of crime victims . The Attorney General endorsed the use of victim impact statements and stated that judges should "provide for hearing and considering the victims' perspective at sentencing and at any early release proceedings ." </P> <P> In 1991, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a victim impact statement in the form of testimony was allowed during the sentencing phase of a trial in Payne v. Tennessee 501 U.S. 808 (1991). It ruled that the admission of such statements did not violate the Constitution and that the statements could be ruled as admissible in death penalty cases . </P>

Who creates and delivers a victim impact statement