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.
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