It was just a few days after Christmas, whilst holidaying on the Gold Coast, that I received a call from my sister saying that my godson and de facto nephew – Brendan - been very badly injured in an incident. Kev Saul, a lifelong friend whom I had known since the age of four, wanted me to meet Patsy at Sydney airport as Brendan was to be flown to Sydney for urgent medical treatment. I was stunned and in shock. I immediately called Kev to see what I could do to help…. It was a phone call that I will never forget.

Brendan and his ten-year-old brother Matthew had been innocently riding their pushbikes in the curbside lane on Wheelers Lane in Dubbo. Brendan was struck from behind, carried some fifty metres on the front of the vehicle, then flung to the road and left for dead. The driver then drove off at high speed, leaving ten-year old Matthew in the middle of the road as the sole attendant to his fatally injured brother until nearby residents were able to rush to his aid. Matthew then raced his pushbike to his nearby home and relayed to his mother, Patsy, that ‘Brendan has been hit by a car and is dead".

I could not believe or come to terms with what I was hearing. How could it be that on such a beautiful summer’s day, so close to Christmas, this innocent family that I had known so well for so many years, was being put through such a horrific ordeal? Brendan was in hospital fighting for his life. Patsy and Kev were in out of emergency trying to give strength to their son whilst preparing for the possible lifesaving dash to Sydney. And what of Matthew and what he had witnessed? What devastating effect had that had upon him and how would it be reflected in the days and years to come?

I began to make preparations to head south as quickly as possible. Then amongst numerous phone calls, I received a short voice message from Kev, which haunts me to this day …"Brendie didn’t make it". My eight year old godson was dead.

Fourteen months on and the individual responsible (or probably more to the point – not being held responsible) for this tragedy has been tried and faces sentencing later this month. In yet another example of the ridiculous road our legal system has taken and just how out of touch the legal decision makers are with the expectations of society, he was found guilty only of the offences of unlicesened driving and leaving the scene of an accident. This criminal made the decision to take drugs. He made the decision to get behind the wheel of a vehicle when he held no licence. He made the decision to drive too close to two young brothers on their pushbikes when he had the choice of moving across to the centre lane and thus avoiding any chance of an incident. He made the decision to flee the scene and leave his victim for dead in the middle of the road to be tended to by his ten year old brother and he made the decision to hide in a roof and to then try to blame the incident on someone else. Yet the court decided he was to hold very little responsibility for these deadly decisions.

Justice, and any system built around it, is supposed to support a number of key principles. It is supposed to protect the members and the fabric of the society in which it is administered. It is supposed to be a fair and equitable. It is supposed to reflect the expectations and the beliefs of the society it protects and it must hold the faith of the people. Unfortunately, most of these principles have been eroded and denied by the road our current system has travelled. We do not have a justice system, we have a legal system. A system where technicalities are more important than truth and fairness. A system where the rights of criminal are protected far beyond the consideration given to victims. A system where high paid lawyers, in the pursuit of material wealth, knowingly support, aid and abet criminals in escaping from the responsibilities for their actions.

Harsh words, possibly … but anymore harsh than the reality facing the Saul family. A family that had lived by and taught the values of our society and way of life to their children, only to be betrayed by that same system, in their hour of most need. How do they explain to their ten year old son, who saw his brother brutally killed, that although the criminal involved did the wrong thing he will not be punished? That his brother, Brendan, died for no reason and no one will be held accountable or responsible for his death?

The criminal in the case of Brendan, a juvenile at the time, is a perfect example of what our current legal system encourages. A long time career criminal, who is well known to both the Police and the people of Dubbo, has learnt to show absolutely no regard or respect for our society and our way of life. Being a juvenile, this individual and his anti-social lifestyle is officially protected by a mask of secrecy. However, his wave of crime is well known by the close knit community upon which he preys. Prior to Brendan’s death he had been charged with a number of crimes of varying severity. In the time since, he has pled guilty to a number of further crimes.

This individual shows no remorse for what he does, as evident by the "high five’ he gave to attending members of the Juvenile Justice Department, when he was acquitted by Magistrate Paul McMahon, on the charges of dangerous driving occasioning death and, negligent driving occasioning Brendan’s death. As a minor the courts refuse to hold him fully responsible for his actions and the pain and sorrow he spreads through out the community.

Later this month, sentencing is scheduled to take place in the case of Brendan’s death. The Saul family holds little hope of receiving any real justice at that time. However, through this website and the small actions of many people, we hope that something can be done to ensure that Brendan’s death will not go unanswered. Nothing anyone does or says will ever give back to the Saul family, their extended family and the community that which they have lost. Yet we may be able to instigate some changes in the methods and means by which our legal system is administered. If we can do this, then we may be able to spare others and their families from the agony and torment through which the Saul family have had to pass.

Please support Kevin and Patsy, their family and friends, in their fight to turn our legal system into a JUSTICE SYSTEM.