The career criminal who caused permanent, serious and debilitating injuries to Heather Hunter, who is now living in a nursing home requiring full-time care,  was sentenced to a jail term of seven years with a minimum of five. The offender could have been sentenced to up to thirty years but as Silvester wrote ‘prosecutors know that there is no point in a long jail sentence if it is halved on appeal’. This is a somewhat strange legal argument. On the one hand the law is indicating that this offender should have been given a much longer custodial sentence but this was not the case as the law would allow him to appeal this decision and have it reduced. Something needs to change. You cannot have it both ways. Either sentencing needs to be increased or the appeal process altered. It is not good enough to say that a criminal will not be appropriately punished because he will appeal and most likely have his punishment reduced.

Victims of Crime Counselling & Compensation Services – Supporting the rights of victims of crime in Victoria- www.victimsofcrime.com.au