By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
The court system is horrendous says murder victim’s family…
The sister of a man murdered in Dandenong Park in 2014 has spoken out about the need for better support for victim’s families during criminal trials.
Mandy Stevens was in court on Tuesday 2 August when Robert John Marshall, 22, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the fatal bashing of her brother Christian Williams.
He faces a non-parole jail period of 16 years.
“For someone who takes life in such a horrible manner we were hoping the sentence would be more but it is better than what we expected,” she said.
She said having had to go through the court system for almost two years had caused her and her family great stress and pain.
“The court system for victims and victim’s families is unsupportive and horrendous,” she said.
“We were told to join a support group and there wasn’t a voice in the room for Christian.”
A spokesperson from the Victorian Department of Justice said there were mechanisms for victims’ families to be heard in court.
“If someone pleads guilty or is found guilty of a crime, victims have a right to tell the court about how the crime has affected them,” the spokesperson said.
“This is called a Victim Impact Statement and is one of the things that a judge or magistrate may take into account when deciding the penalty to give the offender.”
Marshall was convicted of beating Mr Williams to death in an unprovoked drunken rage.
The court heard how Mr Williams had been living on the streets and suffered from an intellectual disability after being struck by a car when he was 10 years old, resulting in permanent brain injury and facial scarring.
Ms Stevens said the court system was unsympathetic to the trauma caused to murder victims’ families.
“The Department of Police Prosecution’s role is to move the matter through the court in a timely manner but it becomes all about the rehabilitation of the offender,” she said.
“Victims and families need to be more recognised and the age of the offender should not make a difference because it doesn’t change what the families have gone through.”
Ms Stevens said she was forced to quit her job of nine years in Dandenong after Marshall’s friend Sam Sua was released on a community corrections order in April after pleading guilty to assaulting Mr Williams during the incident.
“I feel like we have justice with Robert Marshall but I am disturbed that Sam Sua is still in the community,” she said.
“I had to quit my job and the judge could have asked Mr Sua to relocate but it’s the victim’s family that have to.”
Ms Stevens still works in youth services and believes the death of her brother could have been avoided if the preventative services in the criminal system were better funded and supported.
Marshall’s criminal history was taken into account when Justice Karin Emerton handed down the prison sentence.
Marshall was from an abused and disadvantaged background, has been in and out of prison a number of times, assaulted corrections officers, had a number of previous assault charges, the most recent one was only three months before Mr Williams’s death.
“I’m sure the police would have loved to have locked him up but they couldn’t and he was free to walk the streets,” Ms Stevens said.
She said strengthening preventative service measures could see violence in the community significantly reduced.
“There needs to be more services and better communication between available services.
“Violent issues need to be addressed at a younger age as there is no point trying to stop someone at 19 or 20 years old if there are red flags at 13-14 like there were with Marshall.”
Christian Williams is survived by his 10-year-old son Jack, who Ms Stevens said was being well looked after by his extended family.
“Jack is doing well. He’s devastated and misses his dad every day but he’s well supported and doing well.
“He has his dad’s kind heart.”
