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Archived Press Releases 2006 17th May 2006

Justice System gone barmy

(17th May 2006)

A decision by the Court of Appeal to throw out a claim for compensation by victims of the RSA Panmure tragedy has been called "barmy" by the organization paying the victims costs.

Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Garth McVicar asked, "Do Victims need to become criminals to get compensation in this country?"

"Our Courts award criminals compensation while real victims are left wallowing in the mire."

"Where is the justice in that? No wonder law abiding citizens are losing confidence in our Courts and Judges."

McVicar said that even Crown Lawyer John Pike admitted that the Probation Service knew Bell was at risk of re-offending. "But they considered Bell with 102 previous convictions was "a run of mill offender" and the service could not be held accountable for his decision to commit murder."

"This decision shows how barmy – how pathetic – our legal system has become, justice is a figment of the imagination in this country now and it is no wonder our prison population is reaching epidemic proportions. Criminal are laughing at our Courts as violent crime continues to escalate."

Our Government needs to follow the example of Tony Blair’s Government who has just announced a review of their human rights laws to ensure that the rights of victims are put ahead of the rights of criminals.

"We are issuing a challenge to Helen Clark’s Government to urgently introduce legislation to ensure that the law abiding majority can live without fear and that victims of crime are compensated when the system fails them."

McVicar said that "Human rights do matter but the question is Whose human rights?" "We urge the Govt to ensure that public safety comes before the rights of criminals."

Regards,

Garth McVicar
National Spokesperson,
Sensible Sentencing Trust.