Anne Redman's family forced to change statement

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 09 Desember 2012 | 23.08

THE family of murdered pensioner Anne Redman says having to change their victim impact statements was as traumatic as the aftermath of the crime itself.

Ms Redman's daughter, Suzanne, and her husband Chris Miller, had to edit their statements during sentencing submissions for one of the teenage murderers, and have urged lawmakers to reconsider restrictions.

Attorney-General John Rau has hinted at changes in order to better appease victims.

Changes to the Redman family's statements to the court were demanded by lawyer Liesl Chapman, SC, who was acting for one of the killers, known only as J.

Ms Chapman told the court certain aspects of the victim statements were outside the boundaries stipulated by law.

Now-retired Justice Margaret Nyland agreed with Ms Chapman, asking the family to "temper" their remarks.

Major Crime detectives talk to neighbours of murder victim Anne Redman on Yacca Rd, Seacliff.

Suzanne Redman told adelaidenow that making the changes to their victim impact statements brought them further grief.

"It was as bad as when we first found Mum,  because we had to then start to re-hash the statements, which I thought were fine," she said.

"I felt like I was back at university, I had to explain what I had written and the impact it had on me in that two weeks was harrowing, and it wasn't caused by a murderer, it was caused by the defence."

Ms Redman and Mr Miller said they were "completely distressed" at making the changes, which she described as "an exercise in semantics and syntax".

"My victim impact statement became disjointed as to how I write as a writer but I was determined not to change anything because that was important to me," Ms Redman said.

"I wasn't wishing any harm to them, I was talking about situations that had happened to me and situations that had happened to (J)."

Mr Miller said the changes were "a highly technical examination of a personal statement" which he said was unnecessary.

"If it is just a rant or threats of violence or something like that then obviously that is not appropriate but ... to then have the person who is representing the offenders pull apart your statement is really quite odd," he said.

Commissioner for Victims' Rights Michael O'Connell said there was a "paradox of expectations" between victims and courts in relation to victim impact statements.

"Some victims have complained about courts editing their impact statements," he said.

SA murder victim Mrs Anne Dorothy Redman was killed at her home on Yacca Road at Seacliff. Anne Redman with pet dog Spotty in picture taken in 2003.

Director of Public Prosecutions Adam Kimber, QC, said he had discussed the Redman case with Mr O'Connell and outlined his views on what is appropriate content for victim statements.

Mr Kimber said statements were permitted to contain information about "injury, loss and damage" to a victim or their family and some comment on what sentence they believe should be imposed.

Ms Redman and Mr Miller said they hoped the process could be improved to prevent other victims and their families from enduring a similar ordeal.

Mr Rau said: "Victim impact statements have an important role to play in the sentencing process and can be of great significance for those affected by crime. I am always happy to assess current arrangements and improve them if there is a strong sense that this is required."

Anne Redman, 87, was killed in her Seacliff backyard in January last year.

The killers were each sentenced to a minimum 20-year prison term. One of the offenders, J, has filed an appeal against his sentence and his application for leave to challenge will be heard this month.


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