Re: Ultimate in soft 'sentencing'!


Stephen Glynn wrote:
..

Crowley wrote:
Stephen Glynn wrote:


Frinkenstein wrote:
So this young man breaks into a house, delivers six heavy hammer
blows to the head of the man asleep in the house. Kills man.
'Sentence': 3 years supervision order!

Can ANYONE explain the 'thinking' behind this 'sentence'???

http://tinyurl.com/mrq9g

Young killer allowed to go free
Mar 24 2006
Daily Post

A TEENAGE boy who killed a sleeping man by smashing his skull with a
hammer was spared a custodial sentence yesterday.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named, broke into Francis Mellon's
home in Bootle, Merseyside, on July 24 last year.

He found 44-year-old Mr Mellon, a divorced father of two, asleep in
bed and attacked him with a hammer that was lying on the floor.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that the boy struck Mr Mellon at least
six heavy blows to the head.

The boy, who was known to his victim, was still in the house when
two police officers arrived an hour later.

He told them: "I have a confession to make. I have hit him over the
head with a hammer."

He later told police he had also intended to stab Mr Mellon but
could not hold the knife because his hands were shaking so violently
after the hammer attack.

He admitted manslaughter, on grounds of diminished responsibility,
at an earlier hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.

He was sentenced to a three-year supervision order.

David Turner QC, defending, explained that his client was suffering
a temporary abnormality of mind caused by his low intellect and
emotional turmoil caused by problems at home.

Judge Henry Globe, the Recorder of Liverpool, said: "I am not
satisfied there is a significant risk of you causing serious harm to
the public or of re-offending by you.

"I am satisfied that this is one of those exceptional cases where it
is not necessary to impose a custodial sentence on you."

The judge explained it, though. Diminished responsibility.

Steve

Beggars belief.


Given the range of sentences available to the judge, though, given that
the prosecution appear to have accepted the boy's basis of plea, given
that the judge has access to the psychiatric and other pre-sentence
reports, and given that judges don't like the Court of Appeal stepping
in, do you not think that the circumstances behind this very unusual
sentence must themselves have been somewhat extraordinary?

Steve

I find many of the sentences handed out by the courts these days
utterly mind-boggling Steve, this one in particular whatever the
'mitigating circumstances' may have been.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Ultimate in soft sentencing!
    ... blows to the head of the man asleep in the house. ... bed and attacked him with a hammer that was lying on the floor. ... Liverpool Crown Court heard that the boy struck Mr Mellon at least ... The judge explained it, though. ...
    (uk.politics.misc)
  • Re: Ultimate in soft sentencing!
    ... blows to the head of the man asleep in the house. ... bed and attacked him with a hammer that was lying on the floor. ... He was sentenced to a three-year supervision order. ... The judge explained it, though. ...
    (uk.politics.misc)
  • Re: Ultimate in soft sentencing!
    ... blows to the head of the man asleep in the house. ... bed and attacked him with a hammer that was lying on the floor. ... He was sentenced to a three-year supervision order. ... The judge explained it, though. ...
    (uk.politics.misc)
  • Re: Ultimate in soft sentencing!
    ... blows to the head of the man asleep in the house. ... with a hammer was spared a custodial sentence yesterday. ... He was sentenced to a three-year supervision order. ...
    (uk.politics.misc)
  • Re: Ultimate in soft sentencing!
    ... blows to the head of the man asleep in the house. ... with a hammer was spared a custodial sentence yesterday. ... He was sentenced to a three-year supervision order. ...
    (uk.politics.misc)