Families of murder victims call for justice reform
Sweeping recommendations released by a victims group yesterday demanded stronger support from gardaí, coroners and the courts for relatives of homicide victims.
The study of 42 families affected by homicide, completed last year, will be given to judges, the Justice Minister, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and coroners among others.
The research concluded: “The need for emotional support and practical information is paramount at every stage of this traumatic journey.”
Families in the study — completed for Support after Homicide (SAH) — included relatives of victims shot, stabbed or strangled to death.
Families have called for access to a book of evidence once gardaí hand it to the DPP.
Legal experts pointed out last night, however, that evidence is often changed once a trail begins as sections are deemed inadmissible. Families want more liaising with the DPP.
A lack of communication between gardaí and relatives over progress in cases and the lack of a family liaison officer’s help in court once a case reached trial were also criticised.
Families praised the work of coroners, saying they were empathic but called for better audibility at inquests.
On the criminal justice system itself, relatives said it was “weighted heavily in favour of the accused”.
Relatives were critical of the imbalance where a victim’s character could be denigrated but previous convictions of the accused were not allowed to be aired in court.
The study criticised the lack of information freely available on laws, bail, sentencing and appeals victim impact statements should be mandatory in homicide cases, it added.
Rita O’Quigley of SAH said: “It’s the only opportunity where a family gets to talk about what it means to them.”
Ms Quigley said it appeared judges were now “hardening themselves” against hearing impact statements at the conclusion of murder cases.
“It was an assumed right up to last year,” she added.
SAH, whose counsellors are professionally trained to help those bereaved by murder, yesterday called for increased court security to prevent the intimidation of witnesses.
Justice Minister Brian Lenihan will consider the study in full, his spokesperson said last night.
Mr Linehan is currently awaiting a report on developing support for victims of crime. This will help establish a permanent Victim Support Agency, his office said yesterday.
The use of victim impact statements was also being considered, his office added.
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