The State Government is taking swift action to address shortcomings in the law highlighted by the tragic killing of Millicent woman Synamin Bell.

Ms Bell’s killer pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Today he was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment with a non parole period of 8 years and 10 months.

The Government is investigating law reforms so that the partial defence of excessive self-defence would no longer be available to individuals who killed someone as a result of delusions they were experiencing as a result of self-induced intoxication.

The Government will be consulting with key legal bodies and the broader community before introducing any legislation to State Parliament.

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Attributable to Kyam Maher

Synamin Bell’s family not only lost a loved one, but they also have to live with the trauma of the fact that Ms Bell’s killer was able to plead guilty to a lesser charge because of a loophole in our laws around excessive self-defence due to self-induced intoxication.

While cases like this are exceedingly rare, the Government recognises that action must be taken.

What we have seen from this case is that the laws as they currently stand do not meet community expectations.

The Government has been working on draft legislation to remedy this.

As this is an especially complex area of law, we intend to consult broadly before bringing any legislation to State Parliament.