Sentencing teens charged over Lucy Paveley’s manslaughter as adults ‘may breach human rights treaty’
THE State Government insists the teenagers charged over the hit-run death of Lucy Paveley will be punished as adults — but this will only happen if the courts are willing to breach an international human rights treaty, The Advertiser can reveal.
- IN COURT: Family of hit-run teens apologises
- FUNDING: Public rallying behind crash victim’s family
- Analysis: Why charging teens with manslaughter is a bold move
- Court chaos: Teens released and rearrested inside Youth Court
- Fve teenagers charged over hit-run death of Lucy Paveley
THE teenagers charged over Lucy Paveley’s manslaughter can only be punished as adults if the state’s courts are willing to breach an international human rights treaty, The Advertiser can reveal.
Under a section of the International Bill of Human Rights, offenders must be sentenced under the laws that exist when their crime is committed — not newer, heftier penalties.
That requirement flies in the face of proposed youth sentencing laws which, Attorney-General John Rau says, can be retroactively applied to the accused teenagers if they are convicted.
Human rights experts and civil libertarians on Wednesday expressed concern but Mr Rau was unmoved, saying his position on sentencing reform was unchanged.
Mr Rau’s proposed laws permits judges to disregard the Young Offenders Act’s focus on “care, correction and guidance” and impose heavier, adult sentences upon juveniles.
If the proposed laws pass Parliament as expected before any convictions in the case then it will be left to judges to decide if they are to abide by the treaty or the new sentencing regime. Defence lawyers would be expected to use the treaty to try to avoid the tougher penalties for their clients.
Meanwhile, relatives of the teenagers apologised to Ms Paveley’s grieving family outside the Youth Court.
They said they were “heartbroken” over the alleged actions of the boys — one aged just 13 — and were “sincerely sorry” on their behalf.
“We feel very sorry for the family, for what happened, everyone is heartbroken ... I feel very heartbroken,” one boy’s legal guardian said.
“We all feel very sorry for the family, very sincerely, and we all apologise.”
Ms Paveley, 40, was killed in a crash with an allegedly stolen car at Parafield on Sunday morning. The mother of two, who was driving to her job as an AnglicareSA care worker, was the second person killed in a crash with a car stolen, by youths, in the past year.
The other death — of mother-of-two Nicole Tucker — and the killer’s 10-month jail term prompted Mr Rau to introduce new youth sentencing laws.
On Monday, Lyle Morrison, 18, of Pennington, was charged with Ms Paveley’s manslaughter and a youth, 15, with aiding and abetting that crime.
Three other youths, aged 13, 14, and 15, were also charged but, in chaotic scenes on Tuesday, released and then re-arrested inside the Youth Court by SA Police. They were subsequently charged with housebreaking and car theft allegations that police said occurred prior to the fatal crash.
On Wednesday their cases were heard — and the boys remanded in custody — in less than five minutes. The State Government and SA Police defended Tuesday’s re-arrest of the trio at the Youth Court.
Police Minister Peter Malinauskas said: “The people that committed this gut wrenching atrocity need to be held to account ... Sometimes that process can appear a little messy on the outside, but what’s important is we get the result.”
Assistant Commissioner Bronwyn Killmier said: “It wasn’t ideal but the important thing is they’ve now been arrested and can be put before court (on) those charges.”
Following the original arrests, Mr Rau said his proposed law could be applied retroactively so that the courts would have the option of sentencing the four youths as adults.
However, human rights and civil liberties advocates told The Advertiser such a move was prohibited under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The covenant, adopted by the United Nations in 1966, is part of the International Bill of Human Rights and is monitored by a committee in Geneva. Article 15 of the covenant says offenders must not receive “heavier penalties” than those that applied “at the time when the criminal offence was committed”.
Australia signed the covenant in 1972 but, like many UN documents, it is non-binding.
On Wednesday, advocates acknowledged the Paveley case was “extremely tragic” and expressed sympathy for her family. They warned that “hard cases can make bad laws” and said human rights that had been internationally agreed upon must not be put at risk without careful consideration.
Mr Rau told The Advertiser he was “aware of the covenant”, but the government’s position on both the law and the Paveley case remained unchanged.
“The Government’s position on serious young offenders has not changed since the introduction of this bill on July 5,” he said.