Sentencing advisory panel urged in Vic

Victims of crime want the Victorian government to set up an advisory panel to help
judges pass sentences that more closely reflect community attitudes.
A rally of more than 100 people outside Parliament House in Melbourne on Sunday
called for government and community action on street violence.
Among them was George Halvagis, the father of Mersina Halvagis, 25, who was stabbed
to death at Fawkner Cemetery more than a decade ago.
He lent his support to Shane Mitchell, the brother of 29-year-old Luke Mitchell, who
was fatally bashed in Melbourne's inner north while trying to help a stranger being
attacked.
A tearful Dianne Linskens clutched a framed photograph of her 18-year-old son,
Aaron, who was killed by a karate kick to the head in an unprovoked attack.
Victims of Crime Advocacy League chair Brian O'Donnell said judges were handing out
sentences for violent crimes that did not mirror community attitudes.
"Safety on our streets is in peril of diminishing to the extent of actually being
extinct," he told the crowd.
Mr O'Donnell called for judges to be required to consult with a victims of crime
panel while deciding on sentences for the most serious crimes.
He also called for repeat offenders to be made to serve out the parole period of the
sentence for their previous crime in addition to subsequent jail time.
Ryan Leigh Johns, who killed Aaron Linskens in June 2002, was sentenced to eight
months' jail earlier this month over an assault involving a karate kick to a man's
head in a Hawthorn nightclub.
Ms Linskens said it took all her strength to attend Sunday's rally.
"I knew in my heart, I thought in my heart, that Ryan Johns had made a mistake but
when he did it again I now know that I was foolish," she said.
Aaron's sister, Meegan Linskens, said Johns' eight month sentence was despicable.
"I'd look into the judge's eyes right now and the government and the politicians and
say, 'what if it was your child? What if it was your friend? Would you be so lenient
with the sentencing' - I don't think so," she told reporters.
Mr Mitchell urged Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to support the declaration of a Good
Samaritan's Week.
He also said the judicial system needed an overhaul.
"It's completely out of touch with community expectations and community attitudes
and until these sentencing guidelines are brought into line, I think we are just
going to go around in a violent, vicious circle," Mr Mitchell told reporters.
"It doesn't matter how many police you have on the streets ... if they're arresting
people and they are just getting thrown through the court system with a slap on the
wrist, it doesn't matter how many powers they have."
Paul McMurray's son Richard, 21, was king hit in the back of the head last AFL Grand
Final day and has had five operations since. He suffers memory loss, fatigue and
mood swings.
"He is just not the same boy," Mr McMurray told AAP.
"We've still got our son there but he is not the son that we had. He's a stranger to
us sometimes."