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The son of murdered Tokoroa school teacher Lois Dear is outraged he cannot tell her killer exactly what he thinks of him.
Kevin McNeil says he took two days off work to write the statement which is to be read at the sentencing of his mother's killer Whetu Te Hiko on Friday.
The body of Dear, 66, was found in her classroom last July and the killing shocked the local community. She had been preparing for the start of the new school term. Te Hiko,23, was later arrested at a local camping ground.
McNeil says he has been told the sentencing judge and prosecution would not accept some of the comments he has made. He admits it contains some strong sentiments about Te Hiko and the judicial system, but he says Te Hiko needs to know what he thinks of him.
However, victim impact statement guidelines state that personal remarks about the offender, or recommending a sentence, are inappropriate.
"Is murder appropriate?...Because a victim can't say what he wants, seems to say that murder is OK," says McNeil.
Police have asked McNeil to rewrite his statement four times, and Victim Support has admitted it suggested McNeil soften his statement.
Victim Support chief executive Maree Knight says the Victim Rights' Act sets out very clearly what can and cannot be said. She says all a statement can refer to is the physical or emotional impact of the crime, or any loss or damage to property.
Knight says because it is a court document it has to contain fact and not opinion.
"When they're getting into opinion or comment about the judicial or the police system, we say that's not appropriate for this document, and perhaps we can reword it," she says.
McNeil says Victim Support has tried to rewrite the statement, but he refuses to be censored.
"There needs to be change for the victims so they can...express their point of view," he says.
Justice Minister Mark Burton says a select committee is looking
at the issue of victim statements.
