For the mother of Ebony Simpson, learning the man who raped and killed her daughter had his security status downgraded was her worst fear realised.
In 1992, the death of nine-year-old Ebony Simpson struck a chord with the entire nation.
Australians were captivated and horrified by the story of the little blonde school girl who was hauled into the boot of a car during her walk home in the NSW town of Bargo.
It was later revealed that Ebony was driven to a dam where a man bound her legs and arms with wire, raped her and then threw her — still alive — in the water.
Yet, what disturbed people the most was that her killer later assisted in the search effort for the “missing” girl.
When police and the Simpson family were searching for for Ebony, her killer was there with them — watching over the investigation.
When he was finally caught, Andrew Garforth showed no remorse.
He recounted his actions to police with no regret. No sympathy. No shame.
The Australian public was incensed and campaigned for his death.
Garforth was sentenced to life in prison.
However Garforth’s status was recently downgraded. And now Ebony’s mother Christine wants that decision reversed.
Christine told Channel Nine’s A Current Affair that it was always her fear people would forget the horrific crimes this man committed – a privilege she will never be awarded.
Downgrading Garforth’s sentence from an ‘A2’ to a ‘B’ means he will be moved out of maximum security to a prison that comes with greater luxuries — the chance to work and study and have a toaster..
To Mrs Simpson these new permissions are a slap in the face.
“To you it might be just a toaster but to us its a massive change and it hurts, it damn well hurts,” Mrs Simpson told ACA.
Garforth’s sentence downgrade, and other moves like it, is thanks to the work of prisoner advocate Brett Collins.
“Clearly at some stage, [the Simpson family should] move on with their lives and let him move on with his life as well,” Mr Collins said on ACA.
Sadly, Mr Collins fails to grasp the reality of the Simpson family’s ordeal.
“And I’m not having it. I’m not having him doing anything but thinking about what he did,” Mrs Simpson said.
“I have to think about it everyday, and so should he. I got a life sentence and so did he.”
Do you remember the Ebony Simpson case?
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Top Comments
"life sentence" is not a punishment for what he did
Aren't we supposed to be in favour of a justice system based on reform? Isn't that why people were so opposed to the deaths of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran recently? If the conditions in which this man are to be kept have been improved slightly it would be due to evidence he himself had also improved. No one is suggesting he should be forgiven; no one is suggesting he should be freed, but to insist that nothing changes in 25 years is to negate the purpose of the justice system. What this man did was despicable, and my heart breaks for the family of this poor girl, but you can't have a different justice system for one person based on the fact that this particular crime caught the attention of the Australian public.