News 2020
New laws to enhance victim perspective
The Home Office has announced plans to introduce legislation to prevent abuse of victim testimony in court, the Home Office announced today.
The new measures will be designed to prevent victims utilising their in-court testimony in a manner "contrary to the public interest", said Home Office spokesman Mulcher Stobley.
After several high-profile cases, reported in the tabloids, of victims using their testimony to ask that courts be "merciful" or "understanding" towards convicted suspects, the Government is thought to be concerned to retain its reputation for prompt response to headlines.
In the most recent case, a 92-year-old woman whose mobile phone had been snatched on the street by a hooded youth of minoritous ethnicality told the court that she believed he had "suffered enough" and should be set free.
Prior to the trial, the youth had been interned for five years in the Hallibechtel Social Inclusiveness Facility on a remote Scottish island after two of the seventeen National Identity Databases agreed that he had almost the same name as a possible terrorist whom Lord Blair of Belmarsh had once suspected in a pub.
The case caused a national outcry, with the Daily Maul calling for tougher sentences to prevent mobile phone theft and the Sun calling for the youth and his victim to be locked up together and demanding that the woman refund her pension as "partial compensation for her bashing British justice".
Mr Stobley denied that the case had influenced the Government in its decision to introduce more legislation, but said that the new laws would "help the scales of British justice fall from the tearful eyes of genuinely weeping victims", rather than "acting as a soft option for suspects".
It is thought that the measures will include an option for judges to ignore victims if their testimony lacks the appropriate attitude, and possibly a scale of fines and other punishments for those found to be hindering the national aspiration to respect.
The Home Office has announced plans to introduce legislation to prevent abuse of victim testimony in court, the Home Office announced today.
The new measures will be designed to prevent victims utilising their in-court testimony in a manner "contrary to the public interest", said Home Office spokesman Mulcher Stobley.
After several high-profile cases, reported in the tabloids, of victims using their testimony to ask that courts be "merciful" or "understanding" towards convicted suspects, the Government is thought to be concerned to retain its reputation for prompt response to headlines.
In the most recent case, a 92-year-old woman whose mobile phone had been snatched on the street by a hooded youth of minoritous ethnicality told the court that she believed he had "suffered enough" and should be set free.
Prior to the trial, the youth had been interned for five years in the Hallibechtel Social Inclusiveness Facility on a remote Scottish island after two of the seventeen National Identity Databases agreed that he had almost the same name as a possible terrorist whom Lord Blair of Belmarsh had once suspected in a pub.
The case caused a national outcry, with the Daily Maul calling for tougher sentences to prevent mobile phone theft and the Sun calling for the youth and his victim to be locked up together and demanding that the woman refund her pension as "partial compensation for her bashing British justice".
Mr Stobley denied that the case had influenced the Government in its decision to introduce more legislation, but said that the new laws would "help the scales of British justice fall from the tearful eyes of genuinely weeping victims", rather than "acting as a soft option for suspects".
It is thought that the measures will include an option for judges to ignore victims if their testimony lacks the appropriate attitude, and possibly a scale of fines and other punishments for those found to be hindering the national aspiration to respect.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home