Charles Chauvel believes Denis Phillips (pictured) was put on trial in absentia Labour wants changes to the judicial system to include an extension of the provocation repeal, so dead victims can’t be denigrated. The party’s Justice Spokesman Charles Chauvel promised to push for a review of the law last year, as he was concerned about the way the defence was conducted in the High Court trial where 17-year-old Willie Ahsee was ultimately cleared of the murder and found guilty of the manslaughter of gay 59-year-old Papakura man Denis Phillips. "If this had been a rape trial, the victim's prior sexual experience or desires would not have been able to have been referred to by the defence, since (thank goodness) it is no longer appropriate to plead that a rape victim 'was asking for it' or 'in some way bore responsibility for what happened to them'," Chauvel, a former lawyer and a member of Labour's Rainbow Caucus, told GayNZ.com after the trial. "I am disturbed that is effectively what happened here - the victim was put on trial in absentia by the defence by being represented as an older person with a predilection for younger men - and who knows what prejudices this might have activated amongst one or more jury members, and how instrumental that may have been in leading to the finding of guilt for manslaughter rather than murder?" Phillips’ sister stoically sat through the entire trial, including during grisly forensic evidence and images of her dead brother. In her Victim Impact Statement at sentencing she said: "we were devastated he was portrayed as being an evil person". Labour has now tabled a minority report on the Victims' of Crime Reform, in which it calls for an extension of the principle contained in the provocation repeal - that is that it should not be possible to denigrate a victim of crime in their absence because they were killed in the commission of the crime. It says an aspect of the justice system as it stands which has particularly moved the party is the position of those who suffer the death, through criminal wrongdoing, of a family member. “They must witness criminal processes, including trial, and often appeals, in which the reputation of their deceased family member is transformed beyond recognition as the defence seeks the acquittal of the accused. The families' distress is exacerbated as this becomes for them simply a process of revictimisation,” the report states. “The repeal during the 49th Parliament of the partial defence of provocation went some way to remedying this situation. But it still happens. Further substantial reform to address and eliminate or minimise this practice is in our view clearly required. A reference asking how to best accomplish this should go as a matter of priority to the Law Commission.” You can discuss this gay New Zealand community news story in the GayNZ.com Forum here
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 27th June 2012 - 2:37pm