Madam, - On Monday I had the unfortunate task of having to attend the sentencing of the man convicted of the manslaughter of my brother John (The Irish Times, March 8th). John was brutally assaulted, and subsequently died, on April 15th, 2002. Earlier in this long and painful wait for justice, at a hearing on January 24th this year, the accused pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of my brother.
On both occasions in court my family and I were subjected to a torrent of abuse and threats from the guilty party and his family. This week's incident required members of the Garda to escort some members of my family out of the courtroom; the earlier incident had such an effect on my parents that they were unable to attend Monday's sentencing for fear of being subjected to further threats and abuse.
My question is this. Having due regard for the presumption of innocence, is there not some system that could in some way preserve the dignity of both sides? Why is it that victims and perpetrators must share the same space whilst waiting for a hearing? We were literally standing shoulder to shoulder with the man who killed my brother.
Having gone through the devastating loss of my brother, the painful process of his post-mortem and the hearings, it was just too much to be verbally abused by the killer and his family. There has to be a better way. - Yours, etc.,
DERICK MURPHY,
Littlepace,
Clonee,
Co Meath.