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A tragic incident that claimed the lives of three members of a family has left one woman deeply disillusioned with the justice system. Summer Mace, 26, lost her mother, sister, and stepfather in a head-on collision and is now grappling with the fact that the man responsible for the crash was released from prison earlier than expected and subsequently deported. Despite being sentenced to over ten years, the driver served just over three years before being sent back to Lithuania under the UK’s early removal scheme (ERS) for foreign nationals.
Summer discovered the driver’s deportation in February 2024, while she was still appealing the decision to consider him for the ERS. The scheme allows foreign national offenders to be removed from prison early to facilitate their deportation, rather than completing their custodial sentence in the UK. She has since become a campaigner, advocating for victims to be consulted before any such decisions are finalized. Reflecting on her loss, Summer said, “Three years and one month is all he served for killing three people. My heart shattered – broken into a million pieces, because yet again my family have been failed. These people who make these decisions have decided my family’s lives were only worth that much.”
The fatal crash occurred on 15 January 2023, on the A47 near King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Summer’s family was returning home to Gedney, Lincolnshire, when the collision took place. Her mother Lisa Carter, 49, her stepfather Paul Carter, 41, and her 25-year-old sister Jade Mace all died at the scene. The driver, Aurelijus Cielevicius, was found to have been driving at 96 mph while overtaking another vehicle, with drugs detected in his system. Along with the prison sentence, he faced a driving ban of eight years and an extended licence period of four years.
Summer expressed the profound impact her family’s loss has had on her life, describing her sister Jade as her best friend and an essential part of her support network. Since the crash, she has shifted from Lincolnshire to King’s Lynn and has actively engaged her MP, James Wild, who raised the matter in parliament. Despite being informed by the Prisons and Probation Service only on the day of Cielevicius’s deportation, Summer believes the authorities were aware earlier and failed to notify the family in a timely manner. She insists that the ERS is being used more as a mechanism to alleviate prison overcrowding rather than addressing victims’ trauma, calling the approach “inhumane to the people left dealing with it.”
James Wild supports Summer’s campaign to ensure victims have a voice when foreign offenders are considered for early release and deportation. He highlighted the difference in public perception between deporting criminals who commit minor offenses and those responsible for serious harm resulting in deaths. A government spokesperson reiterated their stance against foreign criminals committing offenses in the UK and emphasized plans to reform the appeals system and increase deportations. However, Summer remains steadfast in her view that victims must be included in the decision-making process, stating, “All they’ve done for me is cause more hurt and pain on top of something that has already destroyed my family’s lives.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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