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Sarah Payne (born 13 October 1992, died 1 July 2000), is one of the most famous murder victims in modern Britain.
Disappearance
She disappeared on 1 July, 2000 from a cornfield near the home of her grandparents in West Sussex, southern England, where she had been playing with her brothers Lee and Luke and her sister Charlotte. She was aged 7 at the time and they were 13, 11 and 5. A nationwide search was under way within 48 hours and Sarah's parents made numerous TV appeals for her safe return.
Murder
On 17 July, a farm labourer found a girl's body in a field near Pulborough, some 15 miles from the village of Kingston Gorse (near Littlehampton) where Sarah had disappeared. The following day, forensic experts were able to confirm that the body was Sarah's and Sussex Police began a murder investigation.
The trial
The Payne family's belief that Sarah had been killed by a child sex offender was proved correct on 12 December 2001 when Roy Whiting was convicted of her murder. After the jury found Whiting guilty of abduction and murder, the judge revealed that Whiting had been convicted of abducting and molesting an eight-year-old girl in 1995. He had been sentenced to four years in prison but was freed after just over two years. Whiting was sentenced to life imprisonment and the trial judge recommended that he should never be released. Sussex Police later admitted that they had been convinced Whiting would re-offend after the 1995 offence (their belief was backed up by a psychiatrist's report at the time) but, short of keeping Whiting under 24-hour watch, they were powerless to stop him. This and many other cases of killings committed by serial sex offenders has led to continued calls from the public for serious sex offenders to be locked away indefinitely until they are no longer judged to be a risk, and for the worst offenders to be locked away and never released unless they lived to a great age or had changed physically and were incapable of attacking children.
Sarah's Law
Sarah's Law is a campaign spearheaded by the News of the World newspaper which began in July 2000 in response to the murder of Sarah Payne. Sarah's parents backed up the campaign as they were sure that a child sex offender had been responsible for their daughter's death. The News of the World also revealed that everyone living in British residential areas had a paedophile living within a mile of them.
The aim of the campaign was for the government to allow controlled access to the Sex Offenders Register so parents with young children could know if a child sex offender was living in their area. Sarah's mother has always insisted that such a law would have saved Sarah's life.
In December 2002, Stuart Campbell was convicted of murdering his niece Danielle Jones - whose body was never found - and it was revealed that he had served a prison sentence for holding a young girl against her will and had been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
Sarah Payne's mother said that Sarah's Law would have saved Danielle, but the government has refused to allow any public access to the Sex Offenders Register.
International Parallels
Sarah's Law is similar to Megan's Law which operates in the USA in honour of murder victim Megan Kanka, who was raped and murdered by her neighbour Jesse Timmendequas in 1994. After the killer's trial, it was revealed that he was a convicted child rapist. Megan's Law even shows photographs and addresses of sex offenders. Sarah's Law would just inform parents if there was a paedophile living in their area.Debate over Effectiveness
There has been considerable debate over the effectiveness of Megan's Law and therefore, by implication, Sarah's Law. Issues raised have included:
- The risk of "vigilante" actions. This has been demonstrated in the USA where those on the sex offenders register have been the victims of violence. There have also been cases of mistaken identity, where people have been attacked despite not being a sex offender.
- The increased stereotyping of those on the sex offenders register. This may lead to a reduction in the ability of offenders to find work and accommodation, thus leading to their being ostracised and therefore being more likely to reoffend.
- The lack of "finesse" of American definitions of "sex offender". In the USA, this has led those being convicted of urinating in a public place (which is classified as "indecent exposure") as sex offenders, and thus being placed on a register with those convicted of more serious offences.
- The increased risk of sex offenders avoiding registration with offender management services. In the USA, this figure stands at around 80%, compared with 97% in the UK. it has been suggested that the risk of harm mentioned above deters offenders from registering.
- The nature of offending is seriously mis-represented by "Sarah's Law". Research * suggests that reoffending rates over a six year period run at around 8.5%. Thus, it may be suggested that reoffending is not the problem that is suggested by some commentators.
- Relationships of offenders to victims. In terms of rape, 83% of attackers are known to their victims * and 54% are partners or former partners. These statistics suggest that "stranger danger" has been exaggerated.
Flowers on the grave incident
In March 2006, the News of the World reported that a bunch of flowers had been left on Sarah Payne's grave and had been signed Sorry, R.W - the initials of Sarah's killer Roy Whiting. The Prison Service said that none of its staff had left the flowers on Whiting's behalf; it is speculated it was a hoaxer who left the flowers.
Subsequent Events
Sarah Payne's parents separated in the summer of 2003, just before the birth of their fifth child and third daughter - Ellie, who was born in November 2003 - and her father Michael was later given a community service order for domestic violence against her mother Sara. Sara Payne wrote a book - A Mother's Story - about how her family had struggled through the trauma of Sarah's death and it was published in May 2004. It was suggested by some that Sara Payne who was having financial difficulties was profiteering from her daughter's death. Both Sara and Michael are hoping to live together again in the future, and Sara has continued campaigning for Sarah's Law.
Other details
On April 15 2006, a computer worm (called MSIL/Lupar) was created and "Dedicated to Sarah Payne, Kirsty Little, and all other victims"
1992 births | 2000 deaths | English murder victims | Murdered children
"Sarah Payne"