‘Heartless’ legal system haunts victim’s mother
Pat Dillon joined other murder victim family members at a special memorial ceremony on Saturday night in University College Cork jointly organised by the recently formed charity Advocates for the Victims of Homicide (AdVIC) and the Families of Murdered
Victims Service (FMBS).
Her daughter, Gráinne Dillon, 24, was working as a trainee manager at Jury’s Inn, Limerick, in January 2002 when she was shot dead by Paolo Nascimento, a former Portuguese soldier who was working in the hotel as a night porter.
Ms Dillon said her family’s terrible loss was compounded further by a heartless legal system.
“Because my daughter’s killer pleaded guilty to murder, that was the end of the case. We could not find out why he killed Gráinne and how it happened and, worst of all, we could not describe how we felt.”
Ms Dillon described Saturday’s ecumenical ceremony as heart-rending. During the service the names of 257 victims of unlawful killings were read out.
“It is appalling that so many people have suffered a violent death,” Ms Dillon said afterwards.
And, she said, the service also demonstrated that there was a crying need for AdVIC. She spoke to a number of family members at the ceremony whose cases have yet to go to court.
“They all came because they felt lost and alone and looked to those of us who had been through the system to give them the kind of advice they needed to cope,” she pointed out.
“The legal system works in a way that compounds the grief of the families affected instead of helping them get closure,” she said.
Many families who contacted AdVIC have told how their trauma was exacerbated by the fact that they did not know their rights, or did not understand the system in which they found themselves.
Founding member, Liam Neville, whose brother Noel was murdered 13 years ago, said the main purpose of Saturday’s ecumenical service that attracted 100 people was to bring families together.
Mr Neville, who is also involved with FMBS that provides trained volunteers to help families cope with the violent death of a loved one, pointed out that AdVIC was established to advocate for victim’s rights and to ensure that professional advice would be provided for them in the future.
In particular, AdVIC is calling for the mandatory inclusion of victim impact statements in all murder cases, irrespective of whether the accused pleads guilty. The organisation is also insisting that a character profile of the victim, submitted by the family of the homicide victim be included in the book of evidence.
And it is urging that the mandatory life sentence for murder be reviewed with a view to introducing a minimum term of 25 years imprisonment.
For more information see AdVIC’s website at www.advic.ie.
