Address the drivers of crime BUT stop making excuses for offenders!

23rd July 2018

Today I watched an interview with ex National MP Chester Borrows on the AM Show talking about his heading an advisory group tasked with helping to reform the justice system. He spoke about offenders being victims and how great he thought restorative justice (RJ) was. Mr Borrows commented about offenders standing in the dock and that they are victims too. What he didn’t really touch on were the victims of the offenders standing in the dock; those who were hurt by the actions of the offender.

Today also happens to be our daughter Vanessa’s (Nessa’s) birthday. Why would that be of any significance? Because our daughter was a murder victim. We often hear the words ‘murder’ or ‘murdered’, but I think people maybe don’t always comprehend the enormity of what happened to the victim. Let me tell you what was inflicted on my girl. Nicholas Hawker murdered her; he cut her throat, he stabbed her 32 times, he strangled her with such force that had he not inflicted all the other injuries on her, she would never have been able to speak again, as he destroyed her voice box. He also sexually assaulted her.

How do you go to sleep at night when you close your eyes, and all you can see is what happened to your child? The answer is you don’t. Life is never the same, not for you, or any of your family, extended family and friends.

Don’t ask me to feel sorry for an offender who is capable of this level of violence, or to think Restorative Justice is going to somehow make it more palatable to comprehend. How can RJ make it better, what can an offender say that could possibly justify committing a serious violent crime, sexual violence or murder? I found it highly offensive, insulting and completely inappropriate to have been asked to consider attending a RJ meeting with my daughter’s killer.

Yes, address the drivers of crime and look at ways to minimise offending moving forward, BUT stop making excuses for offenders! Yes, we need to look at the prison population and look to why it is so high. And yes, we need to look at rehabilitation BUT all those wanting to lower the prison muster need to remember that the typical offender in prison has 46 previous convictions. Work with at risk families from the moment a baby is born, and not when the ambulance is at the bottom of the cliff. Look to rehabilitating those that can be rehabilitated so there are less victims long term BUT also remember and accept there are many in prison that cannot be rehabilitated and stop trying to make people feel sorry for them! They had a choice whether to commit that crime or not! They must be held accountable for their actions and realise there are very real consequences. Don’t look to apportion the blame to offenders being victims as well.

The safety of the community must not be compromised in the effort to lower the prison muster!

I have come to terms with living without my child, but I can never come to terms with the violence of how she died. Hawker took her life and he should be serving the life sentence imposed on him. That would be real truth in sentencing. Instead he is now out on parole. Some may try and put a spin on it that I am bitter, or want vengeance, but that is simply not true. Yes, I will never forgive Nessa’s killer for the sheer brutality and violence of what he did to such a young, intelligent, beautiful and vibrant girl; I make no excuse for that, and why should I? I am a mother who loves her child dearly and forever; she is and always will be a part of our family. Because my daughter was murdered hasn’t meant I have then turned to a life of crime, as is often given as the excuse for why many offenders have gone on to commit horrendous crimes!

Instead, for many years I have supported and advocated for victims of serious violent crime, sexual violence and families of homicide victims, as a Victim Advocate with the Sensible Sentencing Group Trust. I believe there is no other organisation out there that provides the level of support and assistance required to aid the victims of these types of horrendous crimes. Through doing this, I have met some of the most amazing people it is my absolute privilege to know. All the work we do is without any government funding.

So, when others are busy making excuses or feeling sorry for the offenders, spare a thought for the victims who had their choices taken away from them and the lifelong consequences and pain inflicted by the offender. No more birthdays, no Christmas’s, their hopes and aspirations snuffed out, their futures stolen and families torn apart. Emotional words? Yes, they sure are, and they are also the reality of what it is like for the victims and their families, living with the consequences of an offenders’ actions!

The safety of the good law-abiding people in our society must always be the paramount consideration in any changes to the justice system, if New Zealand and it’s people are to have any hope of a safe future. ENDS

Leigh Woodman
Mother and National Victim Advocate
Sensible Sentencing Group Trust

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