Republican News · Thursday 30 January 2003

Death driver victims' relatives demand tougher sentences

BY FERN LANE

A delegation of relatives of those killed as a consequence of car crime in Belfast met with a number of MPs at Westminster last Thursday, including Gerry Adams and the UUP's Jeffrey Donaldson, to press their case for the imposition of stronger penalties on those convicted of car theft. Afterwards, they said they have been pleased with the positive response they had received.

Katrina Brammell - whose 23-year-old, heavily pregnant sister Maureen, was killed 11 years ago when the car she was travelling in was hit by a stolen car travelling at 120 mph - told a press conference in the House of Commons that the two car thieves responsible for the death of her sister and her unborn child had spent a total of only six months between them in a young offenders' centre. "Then they were out to carry on these crimes again," she said. "Our lives have been different; my mother, who is here today, is as heartbroken now as she was 11 years ago.

"This has to stop, it really does, and the only way to stop it is to give them the time which fits the crime. A 15-year sentence is what they deserve."

Among the many cases where families suffered the deaths of loved ones by death drivers, only to have to watch helplessly as the killers are handed down minimal sentences, the press conference heard about Kevin Fitzpatrick's 28-year-old wife Donna and his seven-year-old son Kevin. They were killed by car thieves a week before Christmas two years ago. Their killer was given a seven-year sentence and will be released early next year after serving just three and a half years.

The relatives also described how in one case, the victim's family had been denied the right to appeal the four-year sentence handed out to the killer of their son, but the car thief himself had been allowed to appeal it, arguing that it was too long. He succeeded in his appeal and ultimately served 18 months in a young offenders' institution. In other cases, the guilty have been sentenced to community service or have escaped punishment altogether. The families stressed that in many cases, these were repeat offenders who had appeared before the courts numerous times on charges of taking cars and reckless driving.

The families have come together to lobby politicians of all political persuasions to bring about a change in the law to introduce mandatory 15-year sentences for those who kill whilst driving a stolen car. They also said that more resources are needed to tackle the causes of death driving at their source.