Mr. David French:

The key point is the simple principle in the middle of it, which is that killing a parent is child abuse, particularly if you are the other parent. The child is a direct victim. When people hear about this, they ask how it is still a thing that they retain guardianship. It is not widely recognised that the sanctions on someone for this crime are around incarceration; they are not around rights in childcare or in property. There is a slew of things that could or should be better handled in legislation. Because it involves children, this is the single most important part. Other things can be fixed later but these things need to be fixed more quickly. Removing someone who is guilty of a crime from the conversation can only serve the best interests of the child.