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Gilbert Elliott, father of Sophie Elliott reads a statement
during the sentencing of Clayton Weatherston
The Government is reviewing rules around victim impact
statements after the father of murder victim Sophie Elliott
says he had to read a censored version of his statement in
court.
The night before Clayton Weatherson was sentenced for
stabbing Miss Elliott 216 times, police gave Gil Elliott a
copy of his statement with entire sections crossed out, at
the judge's request.
Mr Elliott told the New Zealand Herald the censorship was
"just another way the justice system puts victims down".
He was calling for a law change to give victims more freedom
in reading their statements -- a call backed by the Sensible
Sentencing Trust.
Sensible Sentencing Trust chairman Garth McVicar said
statements should not be watered down, and trust members had
been advised to resist reading censored statements, despite
the threat of being charged with contempt of court.
Justice Minister Simon Power said a review of victims' rights
was underway and a report was due by the end of the year.
He and Mr Elliott had planned a meeting to discuss justice
system issues, but Weatherston's appeal against his
conviction had caused that meeting to be postponed.
There were no specific restrictions on reading statements in
the Victims' Rights Act, but there was a case law precedent
preventing victims from criticising the offender or the
justice system.
Victims were confined to comment on the crime's impact on
them.
