racial (words)

[gilly100788]

my son is going to court next week on a racial abuse charge,as somebody claims he heard him say a racist remark. he is not guilty of this,but a solicitor says the worst case scenario is 6 months prison, please does any body know if this has happend before. it seems a bit harsh as he has no previous.

[dot.hawkes]

If he is going to court it is more than 'somebody claims he heard him say'.... the CPS would have decided there is enough evidence to make the case.

[Bbbananas]

6 months in prison for a racist remark?
The world is indeed going mad.

[gilly100788]

it was a white person that reported my son he was white as is my son !!! ,the police told my son there is just this one witness it is football related.

[Gromit]

Very few racial abuse cases make it to court because it is often difficult to get any evidence that will stand up in court. The fact that it has gone to court means there must be evidence. It would not go to court if it was just one word against another.

Was the alleged remark in a public place and are there likely to be witnesses who could have heard the remark?

[gilly100788]

it was a steward at a footy match but when they arrested him they just said one witness.

[Rollo]

Oh dear! If you make racial remarks at a designated football match it seems it is treated more seriously than if it happened elsewhere. See the Football (Offences and Disorder) Act 1999.

[tyjae100]

firstly how do you know your son didnt say it,was you there?
or are you just a mom trying to pretect her precious,do no wrong son?
As stated before there MUST be significant evidence for it to be going to court,And yes I know somebody who served 6months for racial abuse,but it wasnt just 1 word like your son,and there was evidence.
Wish your son luck

[dot.hawkes]

you mean your son was racially abusive to a steward at a football match? or the steward is the witness to the abuse your son allegedly aimed at some one else? If he was abusive to a football official i would start altering your christmas day plans and order a smaller turkey

[gilly100788]

No the steward said to a policeman he heard him say the word.

[CAJ1]

If he said nothing then there would be no witnesses unless someone is lying to get him in trouble! I agree with others in that it would not go to court if they had no evidence against him. 6 months seems quite steep though.

[dot.hawkes]

ok, so a steward 'heard' someone use racist language, how does he know who's voice it was? I assume most stewards have their eyes on the game don;t they? That would never carry any weight in court.

[gilly100788]

But how can they take one persons word ? and what other evidence could they have..

[dot.hawkes]

have you been with your son to a solicitor and been shown copies of the witness statement? Is this the hearing at a magistrates court? Did he get arrested and charged and has he already appeared befopre the court and the case been adjourned ?

[Bbbananas]

Whatever he said, whenever he said it - 6 months is just ridiculous. He'd get less if he'd have raped someone.

[gilly100788]

he has not been shown the witness statement as yet,as not been to see a solicitor untill next week,it is in a magestrates court,and yes he was arrested then charged a week later.

[dot.hawkes]

errrr, how will the solicitor be any use if he is not already asking for the witness statemenst and the defendant's statements? has your son pleaded guilty or not guilty? Will he need a barrister at crown court i he pleads not guilty and the magistrates send it there? have you plenty of money to pay for one?

[Gromit]

Stewards do not have their backs to the crowd and they do not watch the game. Their job is to 'police' the crowd. They will be specifically trying to identify trouble, like fights breaking out and abusive behaviour.

They are unlikely to report the abuse to the police if they not sure. There is absolutely no reason for him to indiscriminately pick an innocent man from the crowd and lie about what they have said.