The dad of Shaun Woodburn says his campaign to establish a Victim’s Commissioner for Scotland will be a legacy from his son’s tragic death.
A 12-week public consultation has been launched by the Scottish Government as part of plans to transform the justice system, which include putting victims’ rights first.
Former justice secretary Humza Yousaf announced last year that the SNP planned to appoint a commissioner following a four-year campaign by Kevin Woodburn.
Shaun was killed by thug Mohammed Ibnomer in an unprovoked attack outside a pub in Leith, Edinburgh, on Hogmanay 2016.
Ibnomer, who was 16 at the time, is already free from prison having served just four years. Kevin, backed by the Daily Record, has championed the creation of a dedicated commissioner, and used his personal experience of a system he called “barbaric and inhumane” to drive his campaign for improved rights for victims and their families.
The dad of four has already ensured a new protocol for post-mortems was created after he told ministers of the hell his family endured due to the “medieval” system previously in place.
Kevin said last night: “This campaign started as an offensive against the ridiculously low sentence handed down to my son’s killer and evolved from there.
“I used my grief at the death of my son and my anger at a faceless bureaucracy to channel it into something positive, something that would be a legacy for Shaun.
“I did not want his death to be in vain – it had to mean something. Since Shaun’s death, countless other families have gone through the system and nothing much has changed.
“I am proud we have established a new protocol on post mortems but that wasn’t enough.
“We need a justice system that puts victims at the very heart of it. Establishing a commissioner to fight for their rights is the way ahead.
“They will have a lot of work to do, it cannot just be a box-ticking exercise, they must be allowed the autonomy to effect change that will make a difference in real terms not just on paper.
"Scotland will have the commissioner our country deserves, victims will have an independent champion in their corner and that is what we have campaigned for.
“That’s my son’s legacy. Every victim of crime matters and this needs to be acknowledged.”
Other proposals in the consultation include special measures to assist vulnerable parties involved in civil cases, a review of the requirement for people accused of crimes to provide details of their proposed defence in a statement to the court, introducing a statutory right to anonymity for complainers in sexual offence cases and establishing a specialist sexual offences court.
Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans Keith Brown said: “I would like to thank Kevin Woodburn and his family for meeting with me and my predecessors to share their experience of the Scottish criminal justice system and make the case
for introducing a Victims’ Commissioner.
“It is really important that the voices of victims, survivors and their families, such as Kevin and his family, are heard and that we learn from their experiences to make improvements to the justice system.”
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