Murphy trial - Families deserve more consideration

THE importance of giving relatives of crime victims an opportunity to address the court was graphically illustrated in the emotional conclusion of the Brian Murphy manslaughter case.

But the ongoing failure of the system to cater adequately for the sensibilities of relatives was painfully evident in the deeply moving words of Mary Murphy, the dead youth’s broken-hearted mother.

No parent ever expects to have to endure the ordeal of hearing how a beloved child was killed. Nor should any parent be cast into a position where they feel intimidated and bereft of support in the way Brian Murphy’s mother did.