Views are considered – ministry

Victim impact statements can still be considered by a judge even when the attacker is considered insane, the Ministry of Justice says.

The ministry was responding to claims by a mental health nurse, who was subjected to a prolonged assault by a patient in Nelson in 2009, that she was treated with less respect in the justice and health systems than her attacker.

Blair Swain was found not guilty in 2011 of attempting to murder Wendy Hamer, on grounds of insanity. Hamer said she didn’t have a lawyer in court and her victim impact statement was never heard.

She was offended she had not been consulted on plans to transfer Swain yesterday from Hillmorton hospital in Christchurch, to what she described as a less secure psychiatric unit at Nelson Hospital.

The ministry said it could not comment on specific cases.

Victim impact statements were prepared to assist the court when sentencing an offender, so the judge was aware of the victim’s views about the impact of that offending, group manager of senior courts Tania Ott said.

‘‘As people found not guilty on the grounds of insanity are not sentenced but may instead be placed in treatment, there is no entitlement for a victim impact statement to be read to the court,’’ Ott said. ‘‘However, this does not prevent judges receiving the statements of victims in their considerations.’’

Services the ministry provided to assist victims throughout the criminal justice process included court victim advisers, she said.