Manchester mums who lost children to knife crime back 'Face the Family' campaign
Kelly Brown and Jeannine Burke have come forward in support
Last updated 25th Aug 2023
Manchester mums who have lost children to knife crime have come forward in support of the 'Face the Family' campaign.
Kelly Brown who lost her son Rhamero in 2021, and Jeannine Burke who lost her son Tyrelle in 2019, are among those who have come forward.
The campaign is pushing for new legal powers that would require offenders to appear in court to hear their sentences, preventing them from refusing to be present.
It is urging ministers to change the law so court officials have more power to ensure offenders appear in the dock.
Two weeks ago the murderer of 9-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel refused to come up from the cells, depriving her family the chance of telling him the pain he's caused.
This is by no means the first case where this has happened. Other offenders include the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi, and the murderers of Zara Aleena and Jan Mustafa in London.
Kelly Brown had the opportunity to face her son's killer at their sentencing and read her victim statement.
She said: "It gave me the opportunity to look them in the eye and tell them exactly how they've destroyed my life.
"I'd feel robbed if I wasn't able to read out that impact statement to the killers so I feel like every parent who's lost a child should be able to read out their impact statement.
"This is their only chance to address them."
Jeannine Burke did not have this opportunity to address the teenager who stabbed her son to death.
She tells us how it affected her: "You're just left with an open book, you can't get anything off your chest, you've got to hold it all in.
"You're already grieving and going through what you're going to go through for the rest of your life.
"So you absolutely should be able to read an impact statement and tell them how they've affected you."
A petition for change is live now, you can sign it by clicking here.