Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Justice Minister Kiri Allan will make a victims-focused announcement. It includes a range of measures to improve the justice system for victims of family and sexual violence.
A wave of disbelief flooded the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday when Judge Tony Couch sentenced a man who almost ended another’s life to nine months of home detention.
Wynton King’s life was instantly changed when he was punched by 18-year-old Regan Robson-Khan outside a Christchurch bar in October lastyear.
The victim ended up on life support and was supposed to have died in hospital, but his body fought back and he instead faced a long road of recovery.
Couch passed Robson-Khan’s sentence in front of the family and friends of the victim watching on - the outcome left them speechless.
“I think the whole courtroom was stunned,” said King’s sister Amber, talking to Canterbury Mornings on Friday.
Wynton King’s life was instantly changed when he was hit with a “coward punch” outside a Christchurch bar in October last year.
“We didn’t believe the sentencing was over. I thought, ‘Something else is coming after this - this can’t be it’. It was just devastation, pure devastation and disbelief.”
Talking with her brother about the verdict, the feeling of shock was echoed in his response.
“[Wynton] said to me, ‘So he hits me and gets to go back to his life, and mine is changed forever’. We were so upset, we just didn’t know how to respond.”
One of King’s friends, Georgia, spoke with Canterbury Mornings and said he was “never involved in these things”.
“For him, he gets an unprovoked attack to the head, it’s just not fair,” she said.
“There needs to be change. For these youths that see this and see a nine-month detention get put in place, and they think ‘Oh well, that’s nine months of my life where I can sit at home and then go back to normal society’.”
On the night of the assault, Robson-Khan was at Rockpool Bar.
The summary of facts stated he was heavily intoxicated after earlier polishing off a bottle of Malibu Rum.
On the night of the assault, Robson-Khan was at the Rockpool Bar. Photo / George Heard
Around 12.15am, a fight broke out outside the bar and spilled on to the street. The offender joined in and began to swing punches at several people, the summary of facts states.
The court heard that several people, including King, tried to intervene and calm Robson-Khan down, but the offender made a beeline for King and delivered a blow to the right side of his face.
King was knocked to the ground unconscious and hit his head on the footpath, the court heard.
His sister Amber said it was “one of those calls you don’t ever think you’re going to receive”, as she reflected on learning of King’s condition.
The family watched as King was put into an induced coma and on to life support.
“There was an outcome that was looking to be survivable, but [without] any quality of life, so that’s why we made the devastating decision to [turn life support off],” said Amber.
“But he kept fighting. Wynton’s always a good lover of food, so we thought we shouldn’t rob him of that. We put the feeding tube in, and he just kept getting stronger and stronger.”
A wave of disbelief flooded Christchurch District Court on Tuesday when Judge Tony Couch sentenced Robson-Khan to nine months of home detention. Photo / NZME
King’s recovery has been remarkable but remains ongoing, as he suffers from memory loss.
“You’ll be asking him, ‘Have you had your breakfast?’, and he’ll say no, but actually, yes he has. Small things like that - the big thing for him is timetables and schedules, trying to get his memory functioning.”
Amber watched as her brother’s attacker stood trial, the whole time trying to put herself in the shoes of Robson-Khan’s family and what they must be thinking.
“I thought, ‘If this was Wynton who hit this person, how devastated we would be to know Wynton would be capable of such actions’,” she said.
“We’re devastated this could still occur and that home detention is an acceptable sentence.”
During sentencing, lawyer Rupert Ward said his client had never been in trouble before and asked the judge to impose a sentence of community detention.
Ward said it was important to say how remorseful Robson-Khan was, but “nothing can take back from the injury that the victim suffered ... nothing can make that better”.
Robson-Khan didn’t have the slightest idea his actions would have the consequences they had, and it was “split-second decision-making”.
But this doesn’t sit well with King’s family, who feel the sentence didn’t reflect the seriousness of the offender’s crime.
“As a nation, as a family, we’ve been let down by the system,” said Amber.
During sentencing, lawyer Rupert Ward said his client had never been in trouble before and asked for a sentence of community detention, which was rejected. Photo / George Heard
“It’s not the first and it won’t be the last.”
The mother of a Dunedin university student who was coward-punched a year ago spoke with the Herald to express her disappointment in the sentence, believing greater justice for King is deserved.
Her son was walking down an alleyway in the north of the city when he and a friend were attacked by a group of five men in their early 20s.
During the scrap, the woman’s son was knocked unconscious by a punch from one of the offenders.
After an eight-hour sentencing, the offender who dealt the intense blow was jailed for two years.
He’d initially been sentenced to five years, but jail time was discounted by percentages based on the offender’s age and other factors.
The offender did have a criminal history, which the mother said would likely have played a part.
Learning of the nine-month home detention decision for King’s attacker, the mother expressed her shock.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
“I have four boys around that age, and that poor boy, his life will just never ever be the same again. It’s just horrendous.”
The mother said the justice system was “too soft on crime” and encouraged young people to spin the dice and test their luck in walking away with less-than-harsh punishments.
“The starting point should be five years, then going up - not down,” the mother said.
After an eight-hour sentencing of the offenders, the offender who dealt the intense blow was jailed for two years. Photo / Amber Allott
“He was absolutely off his trolley. Nine months is ridiculous - they say [the time period] is punitive, but I don’t see that. It should be jail.”
Judge Couch gave Robson-Khan discounts for his guilty pleas, his youth and his remorse, arriving at an end sentence of nine months’ home detention with standard post-detention conditions for six months.
He imposed special conditions such as not consuming alcohol and taking part in courses that would help change his lifestyle.
New Zealand First party leader Winston Peters reignited his calls for a one-punch law, telling NZMEearlier this week that offenders who commit such punches should receive a mandatory prison sentence.
He said the victim was getting no justice at all.
“It’s not justice, it’s not punishment and it’s not going to be a deterrent,” said Peters.
