Australia: Outrage over lenient sentences for killer drivers

KILLER drivers are escaping with just three years and two months in jail for each life they take on Victorian roads. A Herald Sun analysis of 14 culpable driving cases in the County Court over the past year reveals that drunk, drugged, speeding and negligent killer drivers are receiving just a fraction of the maximum 20-year sentence. This has prompted calls from angry families who have lost loved ones for tougher jail terms and mandatory minimum penalties.

Penny Martin, whose 17-year-old son, Josh, was killed by a drunk driver in 2001, said short sentences made victims' families feel helpless. "You feel like your child's life has just been made worthless," Ms Martin said.

Among those whose sentences have been criticised as too light are Saul Aaron Sharkey, 28, who was speeding and had swigged from a wine bottle just before he struck and killed a disabled pedestrian at Tynong North on October 24, 2005. He was sentenced to three years' jail with a minimum of 18 months. Days earlier, hit-run driver Raymond Arthur Oats, 37, was ordered to serve six months' jail for dangerous driving causing death and failing to stop and render assistance. Oats hit a pedestrian, off-duty Senior Constable Robert Kerr, and then left the scene. Senior Constable Kerr died 10 days later.

The Herald Sun's analysis found that the average non-parole period was three years and two months. Yesterday the State Government said its most recent figures, for 2005-2006, showed the average non-parole period for culpable driving causing death was 3.8 years' jail, with an average maximum sentence of 5.5 years' jail. The Government compared the statistics with figures for 2001-2002, claiming the trend was toward longer sentences. But Sentencing Advisory Council statistics show sentences peaked in 2002-2003 with a non-parole period of 4.3 years and a maximum average of 5.7 years.

Ms Martin and other victims' relatives said maximum terms meant nothing because offenders never served that time. "The expectation that the politicians have put in place says people are demanding higher sentences, but the judiciary isn't moving with it," Ms Martin said.

In a letter to the Herald Sun, Sen-Constable Kerr's brother, David, said Oats's sentence was inadequate and a cruel blow. "Why is it that many judges continue to cast sentences that clearly do not fit the crime and are clearly out of step with the expectations of all decent and law-abiding citizens?" Mr Kerr asked. Sen-Constable Kerr's son, Steve, described sentences for killer drivers as "a joke". "I think the politicians and the judges need to listen to the community's outcry and lift things up a bit," he said.

Elwyn Barry, whose 23-year-old son Heath died when his mate drove drunk and hit a power pole, said that she wanted minimum terms to be set. "That's what shattered us so much. They said the maximum was 20 years; then when the sentence came down and it was only three years and six months, we were quite disappointed," Ms Barry said. "If they are going to say the maximum is 20 years, then give them bloody 10 years or whatever. Really make it a consequence."

Crime Victims' Support Association president Noel McNamara also said there should be a minimum sentence for killer drivers. But Attorney-General Rob Hulls has rejected the proposal. Mr Hulls said the Government believed in an independent judiciary that could consider the merits of each individual case. "While I fully understand that some people, particularly the families of victims, are not always going to be satisfied with the outcomes in court, politicians should not become judges, jurors and jailers," he said. Mr Hulls said he rejected mandatory sentencing and would continue to do so because it had been shown to have no effect on crime rates.

Culpable driving is committed when a person drives a motor vehicle negligently or recklessly or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The charge of dangerous driving causing death involves driving at a speed or in a dangerous manner that leads to death.

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)