‘Violated’ hit-run widow lets fly at DPP | The Nation | Breaking News 24/7 - NEWS.com.au (10-08-2005) By Tom Richardson
THE widow of hit-run victim Ian Humphrey, killed by Adelaide lawyer Eugene McGee, has lashed out at the South Australian Director of Public Prosecutions, accusing him of abandoning victims of crime. In a letter to Stephen Pallaras QC, Di Gilcrist-Humphrey says the outspoken DPP’s public comments on the McGee case have left her feeling “violated and further victimised”. She accuses him of “personalising” the prosecution process to strengthen his “joust” with the Government.

McGee escaped jail despite failing to stop after hitting Humphrey’s bicycle with his car in November 2003. A royal commission into the matter last month criticised the prosecution for failing to address expert psychiatric testimony that kept McGee out of jail. Ms Gilcrist-Humphrey lambasted Mr Pallaras for dismissing the Rann Government’s intervention in the case as “populist politics”.

“Each and every time that you do this, you degrade the worth of my husband’s life,” she wrote. “In my experience the Government is fully supported in its efforts to highlight the abhorrent state of our ‘justice system’.”

She said McGee’s trial and the subsequent royal commission demonstrated “that there are many flaws in the system”. “It would seem that you, along with some of the other professional legal bodies, are more comfortable denying the state of injustice that currently exists.”

After the royal commission’s report, Mr Pallaras said he would not announce whether further charges would be levelled against McGee until this month. Ms Gilcrist-Humphrey said this decision left her “in a totally vulnerable position”. “Despite our obvious personal differences, I want to believe that this matter will be handled in an objective and professional manner,” she said.

Ms Gilcrist-Humphrey also sent the letter to the offices of Premier Mike Rann, Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, Independent MLC Nick Xenophon and Victims of Crime advocate Michael O’Connell. Mr Pallaras said he understood this was “a very traumatic time” for Ms Gilcrist-Humphrey. “I want to reassure her and the community that our decision … will take into account all relevant facts and considerations, and that the decision will be in accord with the law,” he said.