Teresa Maher has won a High Court battle against a mental health tribunal that refused to provide reasons for releasing her son's killer into the community. The tribunal had unlawfully rejected her requests for information, the judge ruled.
Ms Maher's son, Kyle, 21, was stabbed to death in 2017 by Richard Wilson-Michael in supported accommodation in Tooting, south-west London, where both men were living under mental health care. Wilson-Michael, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was convicted of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility and detained in hospital.
On 9 February 2021, a mental health tribunal directed his immediate conditional discharge in a private hearing. Ms Maher learned of this three days later and began seeking the reasons, but was rebuffed. Mrs Justice Stacey found the tribunal had operated an unlawful blanket policy of never providing reasons to victims, and later failed to balance Wilson-Michael's privacy with Ms Maher's right to family life and open justice principles.
Ms Maher, 45, said: 'The way they refused to give us any information was disrespectful and undignified... Courts shouldn't be allowed to operate in secret when there's so much at stake.' Her daughter Billie Lovegrove added: 'We want to know the grounds to reassure us that people will be safe.'
The family's solicitor, Jag Bahra, called the silence 'the final insult' after failures by Wandsworth Early Intervention Services, which an inquest found 'possibly caused or contributed to' Kyle's death. Julian Hendy of Hundred Families said the judgment 'shines a very welcome light on a very dark corner of the criminal justice system'.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson expressed sympathies and said the Victims Bill would ensure victims' voices are better heard. The tribunal must now reconsider Ms Maher's request for reasons.
