I KNOW one day my cousin’s murderer will probably be getting out of prison and going back to his family.
But Jan is never coming back home to ours.
SuppliedJan Mustafa, a 38-year-old mother to a then 11-year-old girl, was brutally murdered by Zahid Younis[/caption]
SuppliedAyse Hussein with her cousin Jan[/caption]
PAZahid Younis was sentenced to life with a minimum jail term of 38 years[/caption]
My cousin Jan Mustafa, a 38-year-old mother to a then 11-year-old girl, was brutally murdered by a serial serious sexual and violent offender, Zahid Younis.
After killing her, he callously kept her body in a freezer in his east London flat for a year alongside another victim he’d murdered – Henriett Szucs.
Evidence showed both women had been subjected to very significant violence before their deaths, and Younis was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum jail term of 38 years.
Nothing can bring our beautiful Jan back, and the impact of her loss has affected us all in so many ways.
But we have to start listening to the views of all victims and the public on what justice means.
The Independent Sentencing Review, released this week, was a real opportunity to change that.
But Ex-Tory minister David Gauke – the person who led the review – refused to meet us.
Mr Gauke’s proposals, accepted by the government to free up 10,000 cells in Britain’s overrun jails, will see some killers and rapists eligible for release after serving just half of their sentence, rather than two thirds.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood is also looking at plans to make chemical castration mandatory for paedophiles and rapists.
Other criminals on Standard Determinate Sentences with earlier release points can be freed after just a third of their time if they demonstrate good behaviour.
SuppliedAyse Hussein helped form the Justice for Victims Campaign group[/caption]
SuppliedJan was the mother of an 11-year-old girl[/caption]
PAThe body of Henriett Szucs was also found in Younis’ freezer[/caption]
PAForensic markers on the bedroom carpet at the home of Zahid Younis in Canning Town, east London[/caption]
But it is hard to believe letting serious offenders like rapists and child abusers out of prison earlier is what victims and their families want.
In fact, across the hundreds of pages of the report, there is no discussion at all about what victims and their families might consider to be justice.
Of course victims and families shouldn’t dictate that, but surely they should be at the heart of that decision?
‘Collateral damage’
I joined others in forming the Justice for Victims Campaign group because everything I experienced after Jan’s murder taught me that victims and their families are not at the heart of the justice system in the way they should be.
My co-founders have all had direct experience of serious sexual and violent crime.
Jeremy and Susan Everard, the parents of 33-year-old Sarah Everard who was abducted whilst walking home, raped and murdered by police officer Wayne Couzens.
Katie Brett, whose 16-year-old sister Sasha was raped and stabbed more than 100 times by her killer before he set her body on fire.
Paula Hudgell OBE, who campaigns on behalf of her adopted son Tony, who lost his lower legs as a result of child cruelty at the hands of his birth mother.
Becky and Glen Youens, whose four-year-old daughter Violet Grace was killed by a dangerous driver who spent barely more time in prison than their daughter was alive.
It is hard to believe letting serious offenders like rapists and child abusers out of prison earlier is what victims and their families want
Ayse Hussein
Our campaign group is focused on sentencing and ensuring it delivers true justice for victims and their families.
We welcome the investment to create new prison places – and of course, offenders leading troubled lives of addiction and mental health issues can sometimes be better off outside of prison.
But the victims and families of the worst offenders shouldn’t be collateral damage as part of a desire to do more to help those people turn their lives around.
Our group will be working with MPs in coming months to make sure they aren’t.
We aren’t getting justice often enough, so please, listen, learn and treat us all the same.
Give us what our loved ones deserve.
That requires punishment that fits the crime.
PAThe parents of murdered Sarah Everard are co-founders of the Justice for Victims Campaign group[/caption]
GettyThe group is calling on the government to consider the impact of the Independent Sentencing Review on victims’ families[/caption]
‘Insult’
The term “life sentence” is an insult and often gets reported as “jailed for life”. But it doesn’t mean that at all.
There are lots of groups that meet with MPs and talk to the media about all the reasons why criminals should spend less time in prison.
We aren’t against those who can be reformed receiving help, and we recognise that prison isn’t always the best place to do that.
But some people cross a line – and when they do, we have to make sure that justice is served.
Some people cross a line – and when they do, we have to make sure that justice is served
Ayse Hussein
I would encourage everyone who agrees with us to contact their MP and make our voices heard.
We are up against it and need your support to make the changes.
We need to ensure all victims get true justice, and that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes that have so brutally damaged our families truly get what they deserve.
Plans to dramatically reduce number of people being locked up in major shake-up
THE Independent Sentencing Review has laid out a major shake-up of the justice system – with plans to dramatically reduce the number of people being locked up.
The Independent Sentencing Review has laid out a major shake-up of the justice system – with plans to dramatically reduce the number of people being locked up.
The move comes after the prison population soared past 87,000, with jails nearly running out of space last year.
One of the most controversial proposals is a ban on short jail terms under 12 months, except in what it calls “exceptional circumstances”.
Nearly 45,000 people were jailed for less than a year in the past 12 months alone – but under the new proposals, many would instead be handed so-called tougher community sentences.
These include curfews, unpaid work, or being forced to undergo rehab for drugs, alcohol or mental health problems.
The plans also push for new types of punishment, including bans from football matches – even for crimes that have nothing to do with football – and restrictions on social media use, particularly in cybercrime cases.
These measures, which are usually just bolt-ons to prison sentences, could now be used as punishments in their own right, without any jail time at all.
The review also calls for a new “Probation Requirement” to replace the current rehabilitation rules.
It says this would give probation officers more power to tailor punishments and support to each individual – from mental health support to being tagged and tracked in the community. But it admits this would place even more pressure on a probation system already stretched thin.
There are also plans to extend suspended sentence rules, meaning some offenders facing up to three years behind bars could now stay in the community instead – as long as they stay out of trouble.
Another major change is the introduction of a new “earned progression” system.
Under this plan, prisoners serving standard determinate sentences could be released after serving just a third of their time behind bars, as long as they behave well and take part in work, education or treatment programmes.
Those who fail to meet the standards would stay locked up until halfway through.
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