The mother who campaigned for the introduction of Victoria's historic "coward punch" legislation is calling for urgent changes to the law to ensure that perpetrators cannot avoid jail time.
Caterina Politi, whose son David Cassai died after he was attacked on New Year's Eve in 2012, is lobbying the Victorian Attorney-General to tighten the law.
Currently, the legislation can only be applied if the victim of a coward punch attack is unaware they are about to be hit and the perpetrator knows the victim isn't expecting it.
But Ms Politi said the perpetrators in a number of high-profile coward punch attacks avoided the 10-year minimum sentence because the circumstances of the attacks did not technically fit within the requirements of the legislation.
Prosecutors in the cases of two young men who died after separate attacks in Melbourne — Patrick Cronin in 2016 and Jaiden Walker in 2017 — did not pursue jail time under the coward punch legislation fearing the loophole would undo both cases.
Both men were instead jailed for manslaughter. They will soon be eligible for parole.
"This legislation has to be used as it was intended," Ms Politi said.
"If it can be proved that the punch resulted in the death of the victim then the 10-year minimum must be applied.
"The law must be made clearer."
One successful case
Ms Politi said she was heartened to know the legislation had been used effectively in at least one case.
In 2019, Joseph Esmaili became the first person to be successfully prosecuted under the coward punch laws after he punched surgeon Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann at Box Hill Hospital, in Melbourne's east in 2017.
He will have to serve 10 years in jail before becoming eligible for parole.
Victoria's one-punch laws were introduced in 2014. They require prosecutors to prove four key elements, including:
- That the punch was deliberate
- That the punch was to the head or neck
- That the victim would not have expected it
- That the attacker probably knew the victim was not expecting to be punched
Ms Politi said she had continued to lobby the Victorian Attorney-General to tighten the laws but a string of meetings had been fruitless.
She has been awaiting another meeting but questions the timing with the state election just months away.
"I don't enjoy this," Ms Politi said.
"My concern is that I will sit down with them again only for the matter to be forgotten about after the election."
Victorian Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes has been contacted for comment.
The Stop. One Punch Can Kill campaign established in the wake of Mr Cassai's death continues to drive the message of social safety, particularly across Victorian schools where Ms Politi regularly addresses student groups.
The Mornington Peninsula Shire council is set to adopt the campaign ahead of Schoolies week this year, with thousands of revellers expected to head to party hot spots across the state's south-east.
