Leigh Robinson was spared the death
sentence in 1968 for a murder of a woman he committed that year. Unfortunately,
he was released and he murdered another woman on 28 April 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.
The murder occurred forty years later after his first one. Please go to this
blog post to learn more about the murder.
Please read
this article from his stepson who wants his own stepfather to pay with his life
and also a testimony from the niece of Robinson’s first victim.
Why
Leigh Robinson should die
MY stepfather took the lives of two women, 40 years
apart. There is no doubt in my mind that he should pay the ultimate penalty for
his crimes
NOT
only would I support the death penalty in the case of my stepfather, double
murderer and convicted rapist Leigh Robinson, I would even go so far as to ask
the judicial system to make public the details of all defendants' past crimes.
At
his recent trial, why was his history quashed? The members of the jury that
convicted him this week of the murder of Tracey Greenbury last year were not
told that he had killed before.
Even
though it took them only an hour to reach a verdict, not one of them was aware
that he had earlier been sentenced to death for the 1968 murder of his former
girlfriend, Valerie Dunn, who was only 17 at the time.
But
after taking her life, he was spared the gallows and he served only 15 years in
prison.
Results: Death penalty
This poll is closed.
Should Victoria bring back the
death penalty?
- Yes 69.15%
(65 votes)
- No 30.85%
(29 votes)
Total votes: 94
Why
am I affected by this? Because the man who carried out both murders, 40 years
apart, is the man who raised my three sisters, my brother and me. He raised us
and he destroyed us, just as he destroyed the families of his victims.
The
idea of rehabilitating murderers is bull. This man must hang.
He
must never be given the chance of getting out into society again, simply
because he will kill if he is ever granted his freedom.
He's
done it before and he'll do it again. There is no delicate way of saying this.
If he is freed, he will kill someone else.
Tracey
Greenbury, unfortunately, did not know about his violent background. It cost
her her life. It is my carefully considered opinion that when the truth about
his background began to emerge, she tried to distance herself from him. But it
was already too late.
She
died instantly when he shot her in the back of the head, at point-blank range.
He pleaded not guilty to her murder, but I watch enough of CSI to know that if
ballistic evidence, weapon residue and DNA evidence at the crime scene all adds
up, justice always catches up with a killer.
But
how do we define justice?
Convicted
killers, like convicted sex offenders, must bear the brunt of their crimes. My
stepfather must face the consequences of his actions.
He
must hang. He must never be given the chance of re-emerging into society and
doing the same thing again.
In
the case of repeat offenders - as indeed he was - the legal system must find a
way to disclose a killer's prior conviction and history to a jury, the next
time that person faces trial.
Mentally,
what makes a person like my stepfather a danger to society? I do not know where
to begin. I cannot define this in simple terms. But when a human being
physically abuses those who are their closest relatives, that person has
already shown no respect for the norms by which society is defined.
As
far as the issue of guilt goes, it is a clear-cut choice. If there is
irrefutable evidence and if there is an eyewitness to a slaying, then there can
be no quibbling over a guilty verdict and the killer should get death. On the
other hand, if there is the slightest element of doubt, then the due process of
the law must dictate what happens.
I
must also point out that the issue of mental care of people who have offended
in any way and are assessed as being likely to reoffend is a debate with no
simple solution. People need all the help they can get, up to a point.
In
the case of my stepfather and his horrific crimes, there had to be some mental
or psychological trigger factors. What were they? I cannot begin to guess. How
deep were they? I do not know. How far back into his life do we need to go to
see when they first began to surface? That is impossible to define.
If
a person is psychologically unwell, is there a case for them to be locked up?
Society must debate the issue, because it has wide ramifications for the safety
of those of us who trust the law and the law enforcement agencies to assure our
safety.
If
a member of your family were assessed by doctors and judged as being in need of
regular medication to control a particular pattern of behaviour, this in turn
raises an interesting scenario.
L
ET'S say it was your stepfather, not mine, who was judged as being a danger to
society. Let's say his wellbeing depended on your ability to monitor his
activities and to make sure he took regular medication. Let's say, in an
extreme scenario, that it was your responsibility to keep him indoors.
Would
you be able to deliver on all those demands? If you had to ensure that the
person in your care, whatever the level of their crime or their innate tendency
to commit a crime, would you actually be able to physically shove a tablet down
their throats? You could fetch the tablet, you could fetch a glass of cordial
or water to wash it down, but could you actually ensure that they did not spit
the tablet out without your knowledge?
If
the legal system cannot make it safe for us to live alongside people who break
the law and commit offences of any nature, then we should have a say in
defining how these people are treated.
When
my stepfather was given early release from jail, he continued to re-offend in
many ways, not all of which came to light.
If
he had raped, murdered, pillaged and plundered, he was smart enough to put the
sort of fear into people to an extent that you would not believe. Yet he could
stand up in front of a jury and without any hesitation he could plead not
guilty to the vicious murder of Tracey Greenbury. This is precisely why juries
must be told the full history of people accused of crimes of this level.
My
stepfather was shrewd enough to look round a courtroom full of people and deny
any wrongdoing.
I
was at work when the first reports began to emerge of Tracey's death. I knew
exactly who had done it, even before my stepfather's name first surfaced. I
just knew who it was. No question about it. There was no doubt at all in my
mind.
I
CALLED Mum but she knew that he was involved although she wouldn't tell me. I
asked her where he was, but she claimed she had no idea.
I
think Mum is a classic variation of Stockholm syndrome, where people caught up
in confronting situations begin to find empathy with those who are committing a
crime. She always defended my stepfather, even when it was a question of what
he was doing to us kids. She always believed in his innocence. Nothing anyone
can do will ever change her opinion.
On
the other hand, nothing will make me back down from my opinion on the death
penalty. That - the belief that I must never back down - is the only thing I
took from my mother. I threw out everything else I ever learnt from her. But she
once commended me for being brave enough not to back down, and that is
precisely what makes me so determined to recommend the death penalty for my
stepfather.
I
don't understand what made Leigh Robinson the sort of person he is.
I
cannot begin to comprehend what made him the sort of person he turned out to
be. It is impossible to define how that part of the human brain works in the
case of a double murderer.
He
must be hanged, shot or stoned to death for the crimes he has committed.
Cold-blooded
killers
- Kate Lauretta
- From: Herald
Sun
- October
01, 2009 12:00AM
IN 1968 a 17-year-old girl was stabbed to death in the
kitchen of her own home. From that moment, life for those involved would never
be the same.
I
am the niece of Valerie Dunn, the teenager who was murdered that day by Leigh
Robinson.
This
week, Robinson was convicted of the murder of Tracey Greenbury last year.
It
is often said that with rehabilitation and counselling, we are able to turn
cold-blooded killers into normal human beings. But Tuesday's verdict has proved
us wrong.
If
the original death sentence had not been commuted, Tracey Greenbury would still
be alive. Her children would still have their mother and a family filled with
grief would not have been forced to confront the heartache of loss.
When
a life is taken away so cruelly, it does not only affect the victim, but also
those left behind. After the murder of Valerie Dunn, my grandmother died a
short time after, from what we believe was a broken heart.
Results: Death penalty
This poll is closed.
Should Victoria bring back the
death penalty?
- Yes 69.15%
(65 votes)
- No 30.85%
(29 votes)
Total votes: 94
Related Coverage
My
grandfather, being from the days of hard men, never expressed his emotions but
at the age of 88 he still misses his daughter daily and carries the burden of
guilt from not being able to protect his little girl.
Three
loving sisters were left to pick up the pieces and to this day each of them
carries the depth of heartache that few of us - thankfully - will ever
experience.
The
effects of the murder have been long-lasting, with nervous breakdowns,
divorces, and family feuds marring our lives, as a result of Leigh Robinson's
brutal actions.
I
ask the question: Why?
Why
did a government release a man 15 years after a cold-blooded murder, allow a
man with no sense of remorse or compassion to walk the streets, to then commit
rape, assault, burglary and most recently murder again? Where is the justice
that Australia so proudly announces to the world?
How
many people need to be affected before our justice system recognises that it
made a mistake?
How many more people need to die before the law is changed to
protect our citizens?
There
are many criminals sitting in jail, waiting to be released, so that they can
re-offend. If Frankston serial killer Paul Denyer were to be released, how many
more people would he kill?
If
we release killers into society, how many more parents, siblings and children
will be left without a loved one?
Leigh
Robinson's violent act took away the right for me, my brother, my sister and
our cousins to ever meet our beautiful, caring and kind Aunty Val. Our family
photos are always missing a piece of the puzzle and special events are never
complete.
Our
justice system failed my family and the families of those affected by Leigh
Robinson. I hope that as a community we can change the system to prevent Leigh
Robinson and others like him from walking our streets again.
If
we are able to change the law, then perhaps Aunty Val didn't die in vain.
