SA Government to amend laws and prevent victim impact statements being edited by criminals before read in court

Victim impact statements have been censored, for decades, by prosecutors, lawyers – even by criminals. Now the SA government is putting an end to the practice.

Victims of crime will finally be able to give their impact statements unfiltered, and without offenders editing them, under legislative change proposed by the State Government.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher will seek to amend the Sentencing Act to “remove any ability” for prosecutors, defence or offenders to edit victim statements “regardless of their content”.

The amendment, which will be subject to consultation, will end the censorship that has been applied to countless victims and survivors over the past 20 years.

It follows Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton KC’s unprecedented public apology to the family of Joanne Lillecrapp, whose statement was edited three times before court.

Murder victim Joanne Lillecrapp.

Ms Lillecrapp’s brother, Ron. Picture: Brenton Edwards

His staff blocked the family from calling Nicole Therese Courcier McGuinness – who murdered and dismembered Ms Lillecrapp – a “monster”, “scum”, “greedy” and “a destroyer”.

Minutes before the case was heard, McGuiness’ lawyers exercised their legal right to have the statement further altered so as not to “cause distress” to their client.

“The preparation and presentation of a Victim Impact Statement is a victim’s opportunity to tell their story to the sentencing court,” Mr Maher said.

“That story should be in the victim’s voice and should allow space for the victim to communicate their views without filter.”

Ms Lillecrapp’s brother, Ron, and sister-in-law, Debra, welcomed the change and said it honoured their loved one’s memory.

“Now, we victims can finally call these criminals what they really are – and they can’t shut us up, edit us, silence us or censor us,” they said.

“It’s taken a long process to finally come to a sensible outcome, and it’s very fulfilling to think so many other people will not go through what we have.”

Attorney-General Kyam Maher. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

They said they hoped the change would prompt a personal apology from the individual prosecutor who changed their statement.

Under current law, victim impact statements allow survivors to outline how “a crime has affected you physically, emotionally, financially and socially”.

However, they are scrutinised by prosecutors and defence counsel before they are read to “edit out material that may be deemed inadmissable”.

That has led to inconsistencies whereby some victims give their statements unchanged while others are forced to make alterations just minutes before hearings begin.

On Thursday, Mr Maher said there was no difference between a victim impact statement and any other piece of information considered, by a court, in sentencing.

He said judges and magistrates were “well-placed” to determine what was and was not admissible, meaning victims should be allowed to speak freely.

“Issues regarding admissibility ought to be appropriately addressed by the judge or magistrate, as is the case with other matters put to the court during the sentencing process,” he said.

He said the government would consult with the legal sector and victim advocates before implementing the changes.