Victims ask for same legal help as accused

Photo: The Press

Gil and Lesley Elliott, parents of murder victim Sophie, below, have joined calls for justice reforms.

Photo: Sunday Star-Times

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Crime victims say they should have the same right to legal aid and legal representation in criminal court cases as the accused.

They are pushing for the government to give more weight to their needs and say the Victims' Rights Act and its principles are "not worth the paper they are written on" until victims and the accused have the same legal status in court.

"Prosecutors only represent the Crown, not in any way the victim. We say it is the victim who needs representation, not the Crown," say Gil and Lesley Elliott, whose 22-year-old daughter Sophie was stabbed 216 times by Clayton Weatherston in her bedroom at her Dunedin home in January 2008.

The submission by the Elliotts, as well as another by a woman whose daughter was murdered 13 years ago, suggest that a lawyer or advocate be appointed to victims or their families, who would work alongside the prosecution legal team.

The Elliotts are among a host of high-profile crime victims who have lodged submissions on the Ministry of Justice's consultation paper. The paper, titled A Focus on Victims of Crime: A review of victims' rights, was released last year and proposes several ways to enhance victims' rights and their role in criminal justice processes.

But victims and the Sensible Sentencing Trust say the changes proposed do not go far enough. The trust also wants sentencing legislation changed to ensure those convicted serve the entire length of the sentence imposed by the trial judge. It calls, too, for the removal of the accused's right to silence, or for judges to be given the power to instruct juries to take the accused's silence into consideration.

The Elliotts, in their submission, said victims needed more support, especially during the court process.

They have spoken publicly in the past of the need for more financial support for victims. They had to re-mortgage their house twice to cover the $50,000 cost incurred as a result of their daughter's murder and Weatherston's lengthy trial. The Elliotts said the criminal courts' traditional view of victims as only complainants or witnesses needed to change, as that was an inadequate role and often left victims feeling sidelined. The courts should also not be able to censor victim impact statements – the night before Weatherston was sentenced for stabbing Sophie, police gave Gil Elliott a copy of his prepared statement with entire sections crossed out, at the judge's request.

The Elliotts want changes to the way the defence and prosecutors operate in court. "It is hardly adversarial, with the defence able to be theatrical and the prosecution only able to present the facts of the case. It is a wonder that there aren't more hung juries or more offenders getting off to commit more crimes. How the judge, but particularly a jury, is able to weigh the evidence currently is a mystery," the Elliotts said.

Leigh Woodman, whose daughter Vanessa was murdered in Wellington 13 years ago, said in her submission that victims should have a lawyer appointed to them or an advocate who could liaise with the Crown prosecutor.

"The trial was a living hell for us. To see and hear the defence make insinuations and tell outright lies in the attempt to get the offender off on a lesser sentence was like losing our daughter all over again...At no stage during the trial did we have any opportunity to rebut any of the lies, as we all know it is the Crown or state prosecuting, not the victim's family, therefore we have no rights," Woodman said.

From speaking to a large number of victims, Woodman said it appeared the treatment of victims varied from one court location to another and that there should be a standardised system nationwide.

"Never at any stage were we provided with any written information as to what rights we had when our daughter Vanessa was murdered or information on the court process when it finally went to trial eight months later. The only written information we received was a letter from ACC saying we were entitled to $3000 towards funeral expenses, but if we accepted it that was the full extent to any compensation we were entitled to."

The Sensible Sentencing Trust submission said a lot of stress that victims endured could be eliminated by standardising the way Crown prosecution agencies dealt with families.

"Victims' rights must be legally enforceable, with a mechanism put in place to ensure any breach of those rights results in a consequence and remedy," the trust argued.

Submissions will be considered by a select committee, which will report its recommendations to Parliament.

lois.cairns@star-times.co.nz

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