Thursday, 18 December 2008
Justice Done At Last x2
Well, what a day for news! I did mean to post something more cheery and festive, but these two news stories are more important:
The first is the news that Rachel Nickell's killer has admitted to the crime. Robert Napper, already in prison for killing Samantha and Jazmine Bissett, plus one rape and two attempted rapes (and suspected guilty of more), has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Rachel's father said, "We sincerely hope that whatever the court says, he will spend the rest of his life in a totally secure environment to protect all other people. A long time ago we came to terms with Rachel's death. Our lives have changed forever, but we've learnt to accommodate the changes. We now hope to draw a line and move forward into the new year."
The second significant piece of news is that a babysitter wrongly convicted of killing a neighbour's two-year-old has been found not guilty at her retrial. Suzanne Holdsworth, who was convicted in 2005, has always maintained her innocence and insisted the little boy suffered a fatal fit. The prosecution at her first trial claimed he had been a healthy lad who was killed by Ms Holdsworth when she lost her temper. It turns out little Kyle Fisher had a brain injury caused by a fall when in his mother's care, and complications arising from this injury caused his death.
Ms Holdsworth's partner said, "This case has always been about Kyle, who was a loving child, a little boy, who Suzanne's always loved and helped look after. We know his family deeply loved him and miss him. Sadly we now know that he had some bad medical features that led to his sudden collapse and death. We hope that this knowledge will help his family come to terms with his death. This has been a terrible experience for Suzanne and our family and we now just want to try and pick up the pieces of our lives together."
The details of both the above stories are heartbreaking to read. Everyone involved must feel relieved to know that justice has finally been done. I hope they are now able to enjoy some peace this Christmas, and may 2009 be more relaxing than previous years.
