PRESS RELEASE: Hug-a-Thug Judge Defies Logic “The only question the Judge needed to answer was, ‘If Stephen Dudley hadn’t been assaulted would he be alive today”? The obvious answer to that is yes, the only logical decision should have been a conviction, says Conservative Party Justice Spokesperson Garth McVicar. The decision by Justice Helen Winkelman to grant a discharge without conviction against the person who confessed to the fatal attack upon West Auckland school boy Stephen Dudley is a moral and legal outrage, and places our justice system firmly in the centre of the twilight zone, where accountability is a dirty word, and personal responsibility an unwelcome reality, says Mr McVicar. “The Dudley family is mourning the loss of their son, and the attacker gets to walk away scot-free, all because a Judge without any medical qualifications has decided that an acclaimed undisclosed heart condition, and not a beating, contributed to Stephen Dudley’s death. “While the Judge is satisfied that ‘the weight” of the crime sits heavily on the shoulders of the offender, the weight of a lost child is one that crushes a parent – forever” said Mr McVicar. “The message being sent to youth as a result of this outcome is very clear: you can assault someone, they can die as a result of the assault, and some “hug-a-thug” Judge will find any and all minutia of “mitigating circumstances” on the offenders behalf, and hey presto – a free ride right through the court system”. “The reason this situation feels so unbelievable is because it IS unbelievable, as all events are when they are embedded in the legal twilight zone that is our criminal justice system”. “When the Conservative Party is successful on 20th September this year, I will be continuing to take steps to ensure that victims, and not offenders, are the priority in the justice system, and that the Dudley family, and families like them, are not deprived of the justice they are so desperately entitled to” said Mr McVicar ENDS For comment contact Conservative Party Justice Spokesperson Garth McVicar PH 0272487919 or Press Secretary Rachel MacGregor PH 021439026
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 00:49:28 +0000