New laws have been proposed which will make criminals attend their sentencing hearing. The new rules, proposed by the Ministry of Justice, give judges the power to order criminals to attend hearings, and custody officers will be able to use "reasonable force" to make offenders appear in the dock or via video link.
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00:00 The mother of Olivia Pratt-Corbell has been praised for her campaigning as new laws have
00:05 been proposed which will make criminals attend their sentencing hearing.
00:10 Olivia's mother, Cheryl Corbell, was among those who'd urged for a law to change after
00:14 the nine-year-old's killer, Thomas Cashman, refused to appear in the dock to be sentenced.
00:19 I think the whole point of the Face the Family campaign, and when I speak to Cheryl and others
00:22 about it, it's about saying, "You've taken something away from me. You should listen
00:29 and hear about what impact that's had on me." And the justice system is such a long
00:34 and complicated system. We don't make it straightforward at all. And this is one small part of it that
00:39 would just give the families that opportunity to feel like they've been heard and to feel
00:44 like their pain and their suffering has been recognised by the person that's caused it.
00:48 And so I think it's, I do think it's really important that we change the system so that
00:52 actually these people are compelled to come and have the, just respect, to listen.
00:57 Speaking to journalists after meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Cheryl said she
01:01 was feeling very proud. She talked about the importance of the campaign on the first anniversary
01:06 of Olivia's death.
01:09 Writing the impact statement was really hard. It wasn't, it didn't take minutes. It was
01:19 days over a matter of weeks. And it's important for the offenders to listen to the pain that
01:28 they've caused, the pain that is ongoing. Going to prison is supposed to be a rehabilitation.
01:39 That first part of call of rehabilitation should be in that courtroom and standing there
01:46 listening to the judge and listening to the family's impact statement.
01:53 To face the family campaign brought people together to pressure the government to accelerate
01:57 a change in legislation. The new rules proposed by the Ministry of Justice give judges the
02:01 power to order criminals to attend hearings and custody officers will be able to use reasonable
02:07 force to make offenders appear in the dock or via video link.
02:12 When you go through a hugely dramatic deal like Cheryl and so many other victims' families
02:17 have, to then have to sit day after day to watch the trial of this person that killed
02:24 your loved one take place, and then for them to not turn up the one day when you have the
02:29 time to tell that person the impact that that has had. And that is an important part of
02:35 that process where the victims and the families get to talk about the impact it's had on them,
02:40 you know, and what this means for them and the life sentence they're going to have because
02:43 their daughter is no longer with them. The fact that somebody can take that power away
02:47 from that family and not turn up and hear that is just wrong.
02:51 Those who do not appear for sentencing could also face an extra two years in jail if they
02:56 ignore a judge's order, with the new penalties applying in cases where the maximum sentence
03:01 is life imprisonment.