JUDGES SHOULD no longer have discretion in requesting victim impact statements from family members of homicide victims, but should be mandatorily required to do so, a new government-funded report is to recommend today.
The proposal is contained in a research paper drawing on the experiences of the immediate family members of 31 recent murder victims.
It also states that the trauma experienced by families of homicide victims is often made worse by their experiences of the criminal justice system.
It calls for increased court security to prevent family members being taunted or intimidated in court, and emphasises the need for reserved seating for families who should be separated from supporters of the accused.
The research was commissioned by the support groups Support After Homicide and Advocates for Victims of Homicide , and was funded by the Government's Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime.
It was undertaken by independent consultant Dr Joanne Cooper and involved focus group interviews with 42 parents and siblings of 31 victims killed by homicide in the previous five years. The interviews took place in 2006.
The report has been submitted to the Department of Justice for consideration.
Respondents outlined their distress at the courts permitting a victim's character to be "denigrated", while at the same time refusing to allow any previous convictions of the accused to be aired.
As a result, families recommend that attempts should be made to "level the playing pitch" by ensuring that if previous convictions are deemed irrelevant, then the character of the deceased should therefore also be deemed irrelevant.
They also express their concern that the sentences handed down by the courts are often not completed in full, and call for the views of victims' families to be considered at parole board hearings.
All participants recommend that "full custodial sentences should be served for murder in Ireland", the report states.
Despite some limited progress in recent years, for example in relation to interaction with the Garda - the research notes that the needs of families remain broadly the same now as they did when a similar study was last undertaken in 2000.
Participants said victim impact statements should be mandatorily requested by the judiciary, should be read out in open court, and should contain "a true and accurate representation of the character of the deceased".
Where rules relating to the compilation of such statements exist, these should be made clear to the family by a member of the legal profession.
Similarly, they should be informed by the prosecution team of the potential future utilisation of victim impact statements.
According to Ann Meade, chairwoman of Support After Homicide, these statements represent the only opportunity for relatives of murder victims "to advise and inform the court of the reality of the situation to them."
"When they were first introduced in the early 1990s, it was never with a view to influencing judges in the sentencing process," she said.
"It was that the family could feel part of the process."
While most participants made positive remarks about the Garda, they raised concern that in practice, the family liaison officer role was "patchy" at times, while there was a wider lack of communication between family members and gardaí.
Key points
A Garda family liaison officer should be assigned to every family bereaved by murder.
Families to be told if the victim suffered injuries and given the choice about hearing what injuries were sustained.
More State pathologists are required to ensure a body is not
left in the murder location for
longer than necessary.
Forensic laboratories need to eturn promptly any body, blood r
tissue samples to the
victim's family after tests.
Court security should be increased to ensure that victims nd
families are not being
taunted or intimidated while in court.
There is a high need for families to be placed in reserved seating in court, in a separate area from the supporters of the accused.
The "imbalance" between not permitting any previous convictions
of the accused to be
aired in court, yet permitting the victim's character to be
denigrated, needs to be addressed.
Families should be permitted to see the book of evidence once it is complete and has been submitted to the DPP.
Victim impact statements should be a mandatory request by the judiciary and should contain a true and accurate representation of the character of the deceased.
Full custodial sentences should be served for murder in Ireland.
Homicide: What the relatives of victims say
The impact of homicide:"It doesn't stop after someone has been killed. There's a whole ripple effect, and the whole emotional side of things . . . It's not just the victim that's been killed. They destroy the family as well, they destroy everybody else." "I'd like to believe in justice. That was my understanding growing up, my whole life . . . And like, I'm sitting back two years down the line and I'm trying to explain to four more lovely children what is justice. Because they don't see anyone being charged with their brother's murder." "I think if there was counselling there, I don't think I'd have been as bad as I was."
Support for families:"There's certain things that [the gardaí] can tell you, and there's certain things that they can't tell you. I used to ring up Victim Support. When they'd say something to me, I'd ring up Victim Support and I'd ask them to explain it better to me, 'cause the gardaí, I didn't think, explained it."
Experience of the courts/inquests:"I must say,
when we did go to court, [the gardaí] were very good. They did
keep a seat for us in the court. But I really feel there is a need
for a liaison officer, especially there, so if you felt like
ringing them . . . Or they could just keep in touch . . . Even
every month, just to give a phone call to say where we are at this
stage, and how are you doing yourselves?"
"You hear all about their [the accused's] character in the
court. And there's just nothing [for the victim]."