dug 
Alex,
I worry that compensation for crime and the increasingly popular idea of “victim’s rights” are fundamentally wrong, and harm our justice system, undermining our unwritten agreement to abide by an equally unwritten social contract.
Victims do have rights–exactly the same rights as everybody else–whether a citizen be a victim, a perpetrator or a witness to crime. Among others, these include the right to face your accuser, be tried by a jury of your peers, and have the certainty of your guilt established to a high standard.
I worry that as more and more noise happens around issues of compensation, we move away from the idea of an impartial justice system and back to the bad old days of family vendettas that last for generations.
Anyway, with that off my chest, and in the spirit of the Creative Commons license, please feel free to use my code for http:// www.compensation4crime.com
All the best, Dug