Family want killers to get tough justice

Nov 29 2007 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

THE family of a young father stabbed to death have launched a campaign to secure harsher jail terms for the perpetrators of knife crime.

John Johnson and his wife Kath are aiming to collect 100,000 signatures backing their message “Enough is Enough”.

Their son Kevin was just 22 when he was attacked and killed in May as he challenged three teenagers while they were making a noise outside his home.

On approaching them, he was stabbed through the heart with a DIY knife and could not be saved by hospital surgeons.

He had been living on Partick Road, Pennywell, Sunderland, with his fiancee Adele Brett, their son Chaise, who was then seven months old, and Adele’s seven-year-old child from a previous relationship.

On Friday, Dean Curtis, 19, Tony Hawkes, 17, and Jordan Towers, 16 – all from Sunderland – were convicted of stabbing Kevin to death before moments later wounding another man with the same knife.

Curtis, of Forest Road, Ford Estate, was given life with a term of at least 17 years; Hawkes, of Mortimer Street, 16 years; and Towers, of Fell Road, 13 years.

Last night, Mr Johnson, 56, spoke of his anger at the thought that his son’s killers will be free by the time they are in their mid-to-late 30s.

Releasing new photos of Kevin and his family, Mr Johnson said: “Life, to me should mean life. Kevin’s killers will be out of prison and will still have 30 or 40 years of life left.

“Kevin doesn’t have that luxury. I don’t think there is enough of a deterrent to teenagers to stop them carrying a knife. If life actually meant life, they would think twice about picking that knife up.”

Mr and Mrs Johnson are hoping to have their 100,000 backers by July next year, when they plan to deliver their petition in person to Downing Street.

The campaign will officially start on December 8 when they will open a book for the public to sign in the market at Park Lane, Sunderland.

Speaking from their family home in Ridley Avenue, Ryhope, the couple admitted managing their grief was proving difficult, particularly given that small things invariably act as poignant reminders of their son.

Mrs Johnson said: “It is so hard when you can’t listen to music without thinking of him.

“We used to have him round every second Sunday for his dinner and I still can’t get used to the fact he’s not there.

“My life is completely devastated and I will never get over this.” While they are hopeful their campaign will have an impact, Mr and Mrs Johnson feel only the most extreme of circumstances will force an immediate change.

Mr Johnson said: “What I would like to ask the Prime Minister is whether he would be happy seeing his son’s killers getting out of jail after 13, 16 and 17 years.

“Of course, he wouldn’t. Obviously, we wouldn’t wish this situation on anybody, but the victims of crimes like this don’t have a voice.

“That is what we are trying to do, give families like us a voice. There are too many people worrying about criminals and not enough thinking about the victims.

“Kevin was such a hard-working lad who loved his family. How many more people have to die before something is done?”