LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — The State House has voted 105 to 2 to require that serious convicted felons are present to hear victim impact statements when they are sentenced.
What inspired Representative Holly Hughes to sponsor the bills was killer Jeffrey Willis’s decision to opt out of listening to the family of Rebecca Bletsch after he was convicted of killing her.
The bills now head over to the Senate for their consideration.
Just how powerful those statements can be became evident when the victims of Larry Nassar lined up to talk about his crimes, testimony that would never have been heard otherwise because Nassar took a plea bargain.
Willis did eventually hear the things that the Bletsch family wanted to say to him.
The sheriff had them taped and played it several time in the car as Willis was transported to the state corrections intake facility in Jackson.
