Mum of sons murdered by their dad campaigns to end killer's early release bid
Victims' rights campaigner Kathleen Chada said minimum sentencing needs to be introduced to stop killers from being able to apply for parole every few years.
In 2013, Ms Chada's sons Eoghan and Ruairi were murdered by their father, Sanjeev who was handed a life in prison term the following year.
The brute will be able to apply for parole again later this year, and Kathleen admitted she fears the day he will be set free.
Speaking on the Grief Pod with Venetia Quick, Kathleen said: 'There is a possibility in the future that he will be paroled. I would like to think that that won't be for a long, long time yet.
'I am hoping, at the very least, that he will spend 25 to 30 years in prison and I will fight for that when it happens.
'I know that parole will be coming up towards the end of this year as he has the right to apply approximately every two years.
'I can't not think about it, and that's part of the problem, it is wrong.'
Thanks to the efforts of Kathleen and others, changes were made to the Parole Act in 2021.
It ensured life-prisoners must now have served at least 12 years, rather than the previous seven years, before becoming eligible for parole. The legislation hadn't been updated in time to stop Sanjeev for applying for parole after seven years.
But while Kathleen said she hopes it is helping other families, there still needs to be minimum sentencing.
She added: 'I do want there to be the introduction of minimum tariffs.
'If the judge, on the day of the trial, was in a position to say he should serve two life sentences and to serve a minimum of x amount of years before consideration for parole, I could have parked it then.
'For what he did it would have likely been 20, 25 to 30 years.
'He got two life sentences but they run concurrently so it's one effectively.
'I understand the rationale behind that but the reality for me and for many other families of victims is that you're sat there thinking, well what does that mean. It doesn't make a difference if you kill one person or you kill 21.
'For me that has to be part of the process, it has to be part of the decision making process when you're putting somebody into prison.
'You're dealing with the grief, you're dealing with the emotions and now you have this to deal with too.' Kathleen said she's working closely with Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan, to have these changes made.
She added the Minister has made campaigners on this issue feel like their voices are being heard.
She said: 'You don't want to feel like they are just patting you on the head and then moving on to the next topic and the minister assured us, in fairness to him, that we weren't, and that we were being heard and that change will happen. But it's slow.'
Meanwhile, Kathleen revealed how she spent time in St Patrick's Mental Heath Hospital after she went through a tough time during lockdowns and her cousin's suicide.
She said: 'I felt I was just about holding myself together at that stage and that one wrong move and I would shatter.
'So I spoke to my GP and got a referral to a psychiatrist and with her we talked about what would be best for me.
'It was decided that maybe an inpatient period of time in St Pats would be good.
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'The way it was described to me that it would be an opportunity for me to fall apart in a very safe space and then put myself back together with support.
'It was good for me in a way and I didn't fall apart. I realised I could cry and get emotional but not fall apart and I could survive.
'It was really good for me, they were fantastic in there.'
However, Kathleen said despite all the grief of losing her sons in such an horrific way, she tries to keep a happy disposition, and to remember them in such a way.
She added: 'I need to live and enjoy life and to laugh and to smile. If you give me a chance to talk about Eoghan and Ruairi you will see a smile.
'I'm very proud of what they inspire in me and in others.'
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