Murder compensation bid rejected

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/wear/7994825.stm

Version 0 of 1.

The father of a murdered man has had his claim for compensation rejected because his son was judged to have contributed to his own death.

Kevin Johnson, 22, was stabbed outside his Sunderland home in May 2007 after he challenged three rowdy teenagers.

His father, John Johnson, said he had been turned down twice by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

The taxi driver was told that if his son had stayed inside his home he would not have died.

Dean Curtis, 19, Tony Hawkes, 17, and Jordan Towers, 16, were later jailed for life for the murder, with minimum sentences ranging from 13 to 17 years.

Kevin Johnson was fatally stabbed in the chest

John Johnson set up the Enough is Enough campaign, which calls for tougher sentences in cases where knives are involved.

The 57-year-old said: "I know a lot of families now agree with what I do.

"They are all the same, we feel we should be given this compensation as a right.

"We should not have to fight for it or even apply for it.

"I've heard that only about 5% of families put in for it because of all the stigma that surrounds it, and out of those that do 70% get turned down."

The CICA said it did not comment on individual cases.