VICTIMS of crime should get a say on whether offenders are freed from jail, according to a York woman whose son was brutally murdered.

Home Secretary John Reid raised the idea of giving victims a say in a speech to the Parole Board for England and Wales yesterday, after allegations that the board was giving the rights of offenders too much weight.

Mr Reid told them that the safety of the public must outweigh offenders' rights.

He is believed to have asked officials to look at whether victims of crime should be represented on parole panels.

Rosie Wall, whose son, Daniel, was brutally bludgeoned to death by heroin addict John Marshall as he lay sleeping at Marshall's Gillygate flat in December 2003, said: "I agree totally that victims should have a say.

"Marshall got 18 years, so he can apply for parole in 16 years' time. "When he does apply for parole I think we should be allowed to have our say and put our views across. It is still horrendous for us two-and-a-half years on.

"Our daughter has learning difficulties and she is terrified about what will happen when he gets out. We've been through enough.

"Marshall showed no remorse for what he did and I think he should stop in there till he dies."

But a top York lawyer has warned against the move.

Jeremy Scott, head of the criminal law department at Langleys, said: "I do think it is important that victims have a voice and moves in this direction can only be a good thing.

"However, what we must guard against is decisions being made on the basis of a person's feelings rather than a proper assessment of risk.

"The danger is, we could have two people who have committed the same sort of crimes, and one victim was a person who was more willing to forgive but the other person wanted their pound of flesh. We could have a situation where one person was imprisoned for much longer than the other.

"There has always got to be a degree of impartiality.

"But it is important for victims to feel like they are a part of the process, and not like the criminal justice system has left them behind. In my experience, very often victims are not even made aware of what the sentence is, unless they are in court."

Updated: 09:31 Tuesday, May 23, 2006