State to change defensive murder law
State Attorney General Robert Clark. Photo: Rodger Cummins
THE Baillieu government has decided to amend Victoria's defensive murder law in a bid to ensure secret deals done by prosecutors are not letting people get away with murder.
The government says it has been concerned about the operation of the law since it was introduced in 2005 by the former Labor government. ''The principles underlying the law have proven difficult and confusing to apply in practice, leading to results that seem unjust and contrary to common sense,'' a spokesman for Attorney-General Robert Clark told The Age.
''The change has failed to work as intended and instead appears to be being used by offenders to escape full responsibility where they deserve to be convicted of murder.''
The comments came after The Age yesterday revealed concerns raised by two criminologists about the law changes, which gave prosecutors the discretion to offer people charged with murder the option of pleading guilty to the lesser charge of defensive murder.
Defensive murder is intended to be applied in cases where people kill to defend themselves or others - such as victims of prolonged domestic violence.
But the study, by Asher Flynn and Kate Fitz-Gibbon, published in the Melbourne University Law Review, found there were limited measures in place to ensure transparency and accountability in plea deals involving defensive murder.
The academics discovered that between the introduction of
the law in November 2005 and April 30 this year, 16 convictions resulted from the Crown accepting guilty pleas to the lesser charge.
While defensive murder carries a maximum penalty of 20 year' jail, the study revealed that the average maximum sentence for those convicted of the charge was about nine years.
The maximum penalty for murder is life.
Mr Clark's spokesman said a review of the seven-year-old law by the Justice Department was nearing completion.
''The government has asked the department to proceed to prepare proposals for possible legislation to amend the law in this area,'' he said.
''The amendments will aim to ensure the problems with the defensive murder legislation are remedied so the law can no longer be used by offenders to escape full responsibility where they deserve to be convicted of murder.''
Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions, John Champion, SC, and chief Crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert, SC, last night issued a statement defending current practices.
They said that ''necessary checks and balances are in place to govern all plea negotiations including murder matters''.
Policies were in place to guide prosecutors' decisions to ensure they were conducted with ''transparency, accountability and consistency'', they said.
An experienced murder detective was consulted before any plea deal was accepted in murder cases and the director had to approve any deal relating to a death, Mr Champion and Mr Silbert said.
Victims and others with a legitimate interest in a case were also given the right to request reasons for a discretionary decision such as a plea settlement.
''We believe the combination of our published policies, clear processes and established criteria for such important prosecutorial decisions demonstrates our commitment to openness and accountability.''
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