Victim support groups make call for law reform

VICTIM support groups and Fine Gael have led calls for the mandatory use of victim impact statements in murder trials.

AdVIC, the charity run by families of murder victims, yesterday said legislation should be introduced as a matter of urgency to ensure the victims of crime and their families are entitled to have their voice heard in legal proceedings.

It follows the refusal by the presiding judge, Mr Justice Barry White, in the Brian Kearney murder trial earlier this week to allow a victim impact statement be read in court after the jury had returned its verdict.