Victim’s father criticises ‘disgraceful’ impact statement process

A MAN whose 19-year-old daughter was murdered last year has criticised the Victim Impact Statement process as “disgraceful” and said there was too much consideration for the perpetrators of violent crime.

Peter Keaney, whose daughter Sheola was murdered in Cobh in July of 2006 by ex-boyfriend Thomas Kennedy, spoke yesterday of his shock in court when he realised the Victim Impact Statement he’d prepared would be vetted beforehand by the accused.

“The guy who killed Sheola gets to see your statement and, if they’re not happy with that, they can ask you to change it,” he recalled.