The colour purple

By Melissa Meehan
IN A SEA of black business suits, it wasn’t hard to spot Cameron Lowe’s family and friends in the crowd walking towards the Supreme Court on Friday.
Dressed in purple, his favourite colour, the group walked along William Street in a show of solidarity.
More than 30 of the teen’s family and friends gathered around his mother, Rikki Arney, for what would be a harrowing day.
It was a day she had dreaded for so long, the pre-sentence hearing of the boy who killed her son with one fatal punch.
Hushed tones filled the corridor as the teen, who cannot be named, walked past Cameron’s family and friends.
“That’s him,” Ms Arney gasped as she caught a glimpse, before needing to take a seat to compose herself.
As details of the night were put on the record, friends and family quietly sobbed in the gallery and whispered in disbelief when the defendant’s barrister David Gibson told the court how the event had affected his client.
“His mother can’t be here because it has caused her mental health issues,” Mr Gibson said.
“She is finding it difficult to face the horror of inflicting such pain on another family.”
He said his client had thrown himself into his work, despite knowing what was hanging over him – hoping to one day open up his own business.
He had only had one alcoholic drink since the incident – on his own 18th birthday.
Mr Gibson said the incident had had a profound effect on the family and friends of the defendant – while this was nothing compared to those who knew Cameron Lowe.
“He doesn’t go out to pubs or clubs,” Mr Gibson said.
“He still suffers nightmares, headaches and sickness – and he, as much as anyone wishes it never happened.
“He never intended for this to occur.”
Mr Gibson said his client, now 18, admitted he was trying to act tough, that he was a young man trying to impress his mates and was now undertaking counselling.
“He’s had no previous contact with police, and the fatal punch was exactly the same type of punch as the week previously – there is a disparity in what happened,” he said.
“If Cameron hadn’t died he would have gone to the Children’s Court and been able to turn it around – it was just one punch.
“He didn’t know the true harm it caused – no-one did.”
The defence pleaded with the judge to take into consideration his client’s age and record when sentencing him – asking for three years in a youth justice facility.
“It was one single punch, one of thousands of such punches in the state of Victoria each year,” he said.
“But they didn’t have the same outcome – he didn’t plan for the outcome.
“He’s a young offender, rehabilitation is better than putting him into adult prison.”
But outside court, Ms Arney – flanked by a crowd of family and friends – wanted no confusion about who the real victim of the crime was.
“He will have the opportunity to get married and have children,” she said.
“My family has been robbed of that.”