Wirral founder of Families Fighting for Justice group takes campaign into schools

Mar 14 2011

FAMILIES of victims of violence are going into schools to warn young people of the dangers of joining violent gangs.

The Wirral founder of the Families Fighting for Justice group, Jean Taylor, said it is important to make sure youths understand the consequences of their actions.

The group hopes to deliver their message to 5,000 pupils through workshops in Merseyside and the rest of the country this month.

Jean, whose son Stephen and daughter Chantel were both killed, said: "We hope to raise awareness and educate a younger generation.

"We will say it doesn’t matter what background you come from. Why bear a grudge or a vendetta against somebody else brought up in an ordinary household?"

Schoolchildren will be shown DVDs of victims’ families talking about the impact murder has had on their lives.

The tour, funded by Merseyside Police, will start with schools in Liverpool before moving to Manchester and then to London.

There they will also take their campaign for clearer guidelines on how judges use the joint enterprise law – which allows the courts to prosecute more than one person for the same murder – to Westminster

Jean, from Greasby, said: "How would they feel if they came home and their mother was crying and their brother was dead?"

The families are disappointed that in some cases judges have been unable to sentence alleged killers because it was impossible to determine who delivered the fatal blow.

Jean wants to see convictions more regularly under the joint enterprise, and for it to be used more freely – such as in the Garry Newlove case. The Warrington dad was attacked outside his home in 2007 by a gang and three teenagers were eventually convicted for his murder.

She said: "Why are some judges reluctant to use the joint enterprise? Would they [the gangs] go away and do something bad if there was no possible wall of silence?

"They are doing these things now with no deterrent."