PCC writes to Justice Secretary backing 'Face the Family' campaign

Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner is writing to the Justice Secretary to show her support for the 'Face The Family' campaign.

A petition has launched pushing for a change in the law, so offenders are made to appear in court for sentencing.

It's after the man who murdered 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Dovecot refused to come up from his cell to be sentenced, depriving her family of the opportunity to tell him the pain he's caused.

Merseyside's PCC Emily Spurrell said: “My heart goes out to Olivia’s family and others like them who have experienced this ultimate insult. To deny the family of gaining a measure of closure by refusing to attend court to face up to his sentence shows you what type of individual Cashman and others like him are.

"To not even have the decency to turn up and face the penalties for what he's done to that family, the grief that he's caused them. To not even turn up and face the reality of that I think was shocking and insulting to the family, and so I absolutely support the campaign.

“Sadly, Olivia’s case isn’t unique; Hashem Abedi refused to leave his cell during proceedings when he was convicted of the murder of twenty-two people in the Manchester Arena terror attack. More recently, sexual predator Jordan McSweeney refused to attend his sentencing for the murder of Zara Aleena in Ilford.

“If Victims and their families are present in court to share their impact statements, why should a convicted criminal be allowed to choose to be absent? Murderers and others who commit these heinous crimes shouldn’t be allowed to wield that power over bereaved families.

“That is why I’m writing to the Justice Secretary, echoing calls for the mandatory appearance of all convicted criminals at sentencing hearings, so that the justice system reflects and recognises the harrowing experience of bereaved families, by removing the power of refusal to appear from criminals, instead compelling them to do so, or face tougher jail terms. Only then will families, like Olivia’s, get a true sense of justice”.

To find out more about the 'Face the Family' campaign, and who is backing it click here.

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