TEARS streamed down Mark Norvall’s face as he read comments supporting his campaign for a tougher sentence for a man who helped his brother after he murdered Leeton teacher Stephanie Scott.
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After stabbing Miss Scott to death on April 5 last year, Vincent Stanford stole two rings off her fingers, and her drivers licence, and mailed them to his twin brother, Marcus, in Adelaide.
Marcus Stanford did not tell police about the chilling delivery even though he knew the items came from his brother’s victim.
He sold the rings for $705 and burnt the licence.
Stanford last week was given a 15-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact of murder.
The sentence was backdated to when he went into custody on June 10 last year, meaning he will walk free on September 9.
The sentence infuriated Mr Norvall, a Leeton man who helped search for Miss Scott after she was reported missing and whose daughter was one of Miss Scott’s students.
On Thursday, Mr Norvall launched an online Change.org petition that was signed by hundreds of people within hours and it now has 46,000 signatures.
The petition asks the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to appeal against Stanford’s sentence on the grounds it is too lenient.
A protest march has also been organised for Friday against Stanford’s sentence, starting at the Leeton Soldiers Club at 5pm and going along Pine Avenue to Mountford Park.
“The feeling in the community is one of absolute disbelief, anger and horror at what we feel is a lack of justice and slap-on-the-wrist sentences that are handed down one after another,” Mr Norvall said.
Mr Norvall thought a sentence of 10 years would have been more appropriate.
“He showed no remorse, he did his utmost to hide that evidence and he sold the rings so he could visit his murderous brother,” Mr Norvall said. The DPP is yet to decide on making an appeal.
One of the organisers of the march, Samantha Buffet, spoke of how the community was feeling.
“People are absolutely upset, they're demanding a march - they want the system changed,” Mrs Buffet said.
"It's a kick in the guts.
“The family should have been able to get those back, it would help in the grieving process.”
Vincent Stanford will be sentenced for Miss Scott’s murder in Griffith in October.
