Families given a greater voice in sentencing
Issued:
Thursday, 15 May 2014
[PDF, 175kb]
Reforms allowing
family members of homicide victims to have their Victim Impact Statements
considered in sentencing have passed the NSW Parliament, Attorney General Brad
Hazzard said.
“We want to give families of victims of homicide a greater voice in
sentencing and that is what we are delivering through these legislative
reforms,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Victim Impact Statements allow victims to tell the offender,
and the court about the impact of the crime on their lives. These statements can
be immensely empowering and help parents, partners or siblings get
closure.
“Such statements by victims of crime can already be considered in
cases like sexual or physical assault, but until now statements from surviving
family members could not be taken into account by a judge in sentencing for
matters involving unlawful death in NSW.
“Our reforms allow family members
to make a statement that could form part of the judge’s
consideration.
“Unlike Labor, we don’t believe in forcing family members to have
their statement considered, we understand that some families might feel anxious
about how well they express themselves or be worried about potential
cross-examination by the offender’s legal representative.
“No family member will be
pressured or forced to give a Victim Impact Statement under our
reforms.”
The NSW Government has consulted extensively with victims’ advocates
and legal stakeholders, and listened to the families of people killed in violent
crimes, including the family of Thomas Kelly.
“Victims support groups have told
us that some family members want their statement considered in sentencing as an
acknowledgment that their perspective matters,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Others prefer not to be
subject to these strict legal rules and scrutiny, and believe the current
arrangement allowing them to address the court and the offender is
enough.
“We
want families – who are effectively the secondary victims in unlawful death
cases - to be able to make an informed choice,” Mr Hazzard said.