By Nigel Pankhurst
BBC News
Research by the Ministry of Justice suggests a pilot scheme giving murder victims' loved ones the chance to tell a court how the death has affected them has proved a success.
The opportunity to deliver an "impact statement" was taken up by Susan Cresser at the Old Bailey trial of a man accused of killing of her fiance.
Susan Cresser and Ian Liddle's dreams of getting married and starting a family were brutally shattered two years ago.
Ian, 34, had been for a night out in central London when in the early hours of 30 August 2006 he became involved in an altercation with homeless James Stewart.
The dispute resulted in Stewart murdering Ian with a broken bottle.
Before the trial started, Susan was asked by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) whether she wanted to give an impact statement to the court.
She agreed and was helped by prosecutors to prepare what she wanted to say.
"They were really helpful, really caring. When I was approached I said I would love to take part. The CPS were very helpful and the barristers explained what would happen, which was very good," she said.
A jury found Stewart guilty of murder at a week-long trial in July 2007.
Before the judge decided Stewart should spend a minimum of 15 years behind bars, Susan's impact statement was given.
It was read out by a court clerk after Susan felt she would be unable to do it herself.
"It would have been too much," she said.
'Massive void'
She found there was a marked difference between putting her words down on paper and the emotion of hearing them read out loud in court.
"When I wrote it down I thought 'that's exactly what I want to say'. It was almost like going through the motions," she said.
"I think the public are tired of everything being about the criminal's rights. It's high time the victim's family and loved ones are heard"
"But when I heard someone else read it out it was so harrowing. I was thinking [about Stewart] 'I hope you're listening and digesting it'.
"But it needed to be done and I'm glad that they read that out. I went to pieces to be honest."
She continued: "I described Ian being a happy Geordie chappie and that we were going to be married and he desperately wanted to start a family.
"I said he loved me and that's now been taken away by a complete stranger, and over nothing.
"Most of what I put in there was about Ian and his personality, and how his death affected me. It left a massive void."
'Sense of justice'
Susan, from Croydon, south London, said the experience was a benefit to her after the devastation of losing her fiance.
"You kind of get it off your chest. I felt like I've said my bit and that its not just 'Ian the victim', it's about who he was," she said.
"There's a sense of justice. The victim and what has been left should be talked about."
After her own experience, Susan is fully behind the idea of impact statements being given in court.
"I thought it was normal that you could say something somewhere along the line but I was quite surprised that it wasn't," she said.
"I think the public are tired of everything being about the criminal's rights. It's high time the victim's family and loved ones are heard."
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