Johannesburg — THE case of negligence brought against the state by freelance photographer Alix Carmichele, who was brutally assaulted by a known sex offender let out on bail 12 years ago, will hopefully end in a degree of justice when the amount of compensation is finally determined in the Cape High Court this week.

Carmichele is seeking R4,6m in damages, including R2m for loss of earnings.

But no matter how large the compensation and how extensive the apology from the Knysna prosecutor for failing to oppose bail despite warnings about the danger the perpetrator posed to society, the trauma Carmichele suffered cannot be undone.

That legal redress can never truly deliver justice to the victims of violent crime is something with which they and society will have to come to terms. But what has been unacceptable in this and similar cases is the behaviour of the state at every step of the way. In the first instance, the attack would never have happened had the state done its duty to protect its citizens, but more chilling is that the state brought the full weight of its considerable legal resources to fight an individual with relatively modest means. It is particularly offensive that the state would do so ostensibly in the public interest.

The consequence is that it has taken 12 years for the matter to reach the end stage. The victim, meanwhile, has had to recount and relive her trauma over and over at the state's behest. That is nothing less than sanctioned torture and may even be evidence of a sinister strategy to discourage the pursuit of justice.

Yet, good may come out of the sorry business. The Constitutional Court ruling that the state is liable has set a precedent that is likely to see a flood of similar cases. Perhaps now that there is a prospect of large sums in taxpayers' money being awarded to crime victims, the state may consider it worth protecting its citizens better.

And perhaps the agencies of the state will have learnt the important lesson that the society whose interests they must uphold is best served one individual at a time.