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Petition demands harsher penalties for drunken violence

· Punch victim Daniel Christie dies
· Victims parents call for tougher sentencing
· Street violence: Our fault, not alcohol’s

The father of fatal one-punch victim Thomas Kelly has delivered to the NSW government a petition with 132,000 signatures calling for tougher sentencing laws for alcohol-related violence.

The move comes two days after Daniel Christie, 18, died after falling victim to an alleged king-hit in Kings Cross on New Year’s Eve.

He was punched in almost the same location where Thomas Kelly was struck in July 2012.

Thomas’s father Ralph Kelly has been a staunch advocate of harsher penalties for drunk offenders who throw fatal punches.

Mr Kelly launched a petition on change.org demanding minimum sentencing laws for manslaughter.

Following the alleged assault of Mr Christie, the petition was updated to call for alcohol and drug intoxication to be identified as a “mandatory aggravating factor” in sentencing.

The petition also demands the victims’ youth and inability to defend themselves be taken into account in sentencing.

Mr Kelly on Monday presented the petition to staff in the offices of the NSW premier and attorney-general.

Change.org says it is the second-largest petition it has hosted.

Alongside friends and relatives of Mr Kelly, others impacted by drunken violence left comments on the petition detailing their experiences.

Annie Sutton, a former teacher of Mr Christie, described the Sydney teen as a “lovely, personable and gentle young man”.

“How many more young people are to be damaged before we change our culture and our laws?” she wrote.

Comment has been sought from Attorney-General Greg Smith.

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