Life — it’s too easy for criminals
Dear Prime Minister
We need to talk and we need to talk now.
Someone has to make the point New Zealand has a dysfunctional justice system and you must act to fix it. Two recent Hamilton stories captured the worst elements of New Zealand society. Many were outraged by what happened in both cases.
One is a story of brutal rape, of methamphetamine and a teenager whose family background probably led him to a criminal life. The other, a rugby star whose career may have been curtailed due to his domestic violence offending against his girlfriend, so he got off.
Both cases highlight the New Zealand judiciary is out of touch with the increasing level of violence in society and judges are consistently siding with offenders and not victims.
In the first case a woman is raped, strangled and feared for her life. Her young daughter is caught in the violence and forced to watch while her mother is raped. They both escape – just.
Eight-years-is-not-nearlyenough. The intruder is caught. He was on a two day bender on methamphetamine when he entered her house.
The 16 year old gang associate originally pleads guilty to burglary, but denies charges of rape, unlawful sexual connection, threats to kill, assaulting a female, assaulting a child, attempted abduction and assault with a weapon. He has a background of family dysfunction and drugs. The woman now faces the reality of life after rape. Her daughter faces the reality of living with the afterimages of seeing things no child should ever witness.
Lorenz Shannyn Mekuli is the name of the offender. He is 17. He was imprisoned for a mere eight years. It is likely he will be out on the street before the next rugby world cup comes around in 2023.
The community is outraged at the leniency of the sentence. So are many women who took to social media to support the victim and share their anger at the light sentence.
They want justice. But the judiciary does not. In Hamilton, district court Judge Louis Bidios said: ‘‘ . . . this is as bad as it gets in any description.’’ And yet he sentenced Mekuli to only eight years. He said Mekuli had ‘‘totally destroyed’’ the life of his Hamilton victim through his actions on the morning of Saturday, April 7.
Eight-years-is-not-nearlyenough. If this case of extreme violence against mother and child was indeed ‘as bad as it gets..’ then Judge Bidios should have started with a 15-year sentence, which is what the victim of this crime felt was appropriate.
Eight years is utterly inadequate. She and her daughter have life sentences. The second case involves Waikato rugby star Sevu Reece. A heavily intoxicated Reece got into an argument with his partner in the Hamilton CBD.
Reece yelled at his partner to shut up, (not his real words) and chased her down the street, dragging her to the ground. She suffered bruising to the side of her face, waist and bleeding to her knee.
The police prosecutor said Reece was ‘‘on notice’’ after being blacklisted by police. But Reece was handed a discharge without conviction by Judge Denise Clark. In Hamilton District Court Judge Clark said a conviction would have ended the Fijian-born player’s pending Irish rugby playing contract – and that would have been out of all proportion to the gravity of the offending.
It appears domestic or home invasion violence is OK under ‘‘certain circumstances’’, those being that you have a rugby contract or a poor family background and ‘‘being on notice’’ for previous violent episodes means little. Thankfully Irish rugby club Connacht has a stronger sense of justice and cancelled Reece’s contract. Both cases serve as symbols of the profound dysfunction of the New Zealand justice system.
How many more women have to be beaten, raped and abused while the judiciary offers discounts for the men who commit offences? When is #METOO really going to become #WETOO for victims of violent crime?
We no longer live in a New Zealand of the past. We live in difficult times and criminal life has overtaken our laws and our justice system. We are now inadequately served by judges who continue to side with offenders and not victims.
This is your biggest challenge prime minister. It’s not the economy or the environment; it is New Zealand’s need for a justice system that has integrity and credibility. Life does not mean life in New Zealand. It is time it did. Times have changed.
New Zealanders have lost faith in the judiciary and these sentences demonstrate how out of touch and desensitised our judiciary has become. How many more victims of crime have to stand on the steps of our courthouses frustrated at the inadequate sentencing the perpetrators of the crime have received? How many more women injured in domestic violence episodes does it take to get your attention Prime Minister?
How many?
The New Zealand judiciary is out of touch with the increasing level of violence in society and judges are consistently siding with offenders and not victims.