The mother of two boys who were murdered by her ex-husband has said it was ‘an insult’ when he was permitted to apply for parole after seven years.
Kathleen Chada has today welcomed new laws preventing life sentence prisoners from applying for parole for a minimum of 12 years.
Her ex-husband Sanjeev Chada is currently serving two life sentences for murdering their two sons Eoghan and Ruarí in 2013.
On Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Ms Chada said the new laws don’t go far enough but are a “step in the right direction.”
She said she was “devastated” when she was told her ex-husband was applying for parole after serving just seven years of his sentences.
“Number one because I knew the new Parole Act had come into law the previous year and therefore, why was he even entitled to?” she said. “But even the fact that he was applying to me was an insult.
“It was an insult to me and more than that it was an insult to Eoghan and Ruarí and I felt, at seven years, why did he think he had the right to even be considered for parole?”
Kathleen Chada, mother of Eoghan and Ruairi Chada, follows the hearses carrying the boys' remains as the funeral procession makes its way to St Lazerian's Church in Ballinkillen Co Carlow, 02-08-2013. Image: Laura Hutton/RollingNewsShe noted that, to her knowledge, no life prisoner has ever been paroled after seven years.
“So again, why put us through the pain and misery of having to go through the process?” she asked.
Ms Chada said that, even with the new legislation, the parole system is “very much stacked in favour of the perpetrator.”
She said there are two changes she would like to see to address the imbalance – firstly, judges should be allowed to set minimum time periods before parole is considered and secondly, life sentences should be served consecutively rather than concurrently.
LISTEN BACK: "I was devastated when I heard he was utilising his right to apply for parole... why did he even think he had the right?" @andreagilligan hears from Kathleen Chada as well as Gary, who shared his story of turning his life around after prison https://t.co/2PaolnnksP
— Lunchtime Live (@LunchtimeLiveNT) August 12, 2021
“There is a place for rehabilitation,” she said. “There’s absolutely no question about that, but how do you rehabilitate Sanj Chada? How do you rehabilitate what he did to my boys, his own sons, on that night in 2013?
“How do you rehabilitate him? How do you make him a member of society again?
“That makes it sound like I am out for vengeance but it’s not that. I am realistic but I want fairness and I want justice for my boys.”
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