Stuart Hall Receives 15 Month Sentence - Fair Or Unfair?

[LazyGun]

http://news.sky.com/story/1104682/stuart-hall-jailed-for-sex-attacks-on-girls

I had thought he might get slightly longer, but his age and the nature of the offences have played a part in the judges sentence, I imagine...

[Everhelpful]

Should have got at least 5 years,in my opinion,Age should have nothing to do with Sentencing.

[emmie]

age related sentence i expect. will he do the time and in a open prison. personally i would have given him 5 years but not up to me

[Sqad]

Well, Lazy.....the British public have got their "pound of flesh" so ....job done.

Yes it is about right.

[snags]

''Hall's defence barrister told the court his offences were at the "less serious end of the scale".

He said Hall's life was "unblemished" in the years since the offences, and statements were submitted about Hall's charity work.

His barrister, explaining his client's TV work, said he had "brought laughter to millions" and that if he were jailed, he might die in prison.

Let's let him off then. Oh, they more or less have...

[hc4361]

We still don't know exactly what the offences were. Apparently one was asking a young girl to 'cuddle him like a teddy bear'.

[EcclesCake]

I'm pretty sure there are sentencing guidelines, perhaps the Judge went for the lower end of the scale as to impose a longer sentence would have resulted in an appeal. I reckon the Judge has applied forethought and reduced the burden on the courts and taxpayer.

[jackthehat]

sqad - The phrase "pound of flesh" is usually applied where the sentence is harshly punative.....do you really believe this to be the case?

Whatever sentence was handed down, I think his victims will be more satisified with his acknowledgement of his guilt.

[FredPuli43]

It must be age related. I'd have thought it was worth 4 years, given that it was habitual offending and some of the details are disturbing, certainly one instance of plying the girl with drink first and another where the girl was only 9. "At the low end of the scale" (his counsel) may only mean that it was not nearly rape, as rape is currently defined, but low end or not, the age of victims and the clear pattern of behaviour over years count against that.

[Sqad]

JTH....\\\\ usually applied\\\
I am not familiar with the Merchant of Venice, but to us commoners, "pound of flesh" usually means "what is owed" and yes i do think that 15months is about right for what "sins" have been committed.

[DTCwordfan]

15 months inside - or just 3 and then tagged? Too short, IMO.

[Mattk]

15 months? Seems incredibly light to me. We are talking child abuse here.

[Ellipsis]

His victims have lived with this for years and, in that time, must have come to believe that he was going to get away with it forever. Now his name is mud and, aged 83, he's spending time in jail. In their place, I'd be fairly happy with the outcome ...

[Canary42]

I suspect that not only was it age-related but because he pleaded guilty - the judge hoping this would encourage some of the others to come clean - unlikely IMO, but judges are well-known for their naivety.

[kat1]

He'll be out for Xmas what a joke!!

[LazyGun]

Link to the Judges summation, detailing the extent of each charge, its seriousness, the sentencing implications and the various mitigations, of which his age, the offences being considered at the low end of the scale, and the likely charge at the time of the offence were all taken into account to arrive at the sentence.

Makes for interesting reading, i think
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/stuart-hall-sentencing-remarks-17062013.pdf

From the article
"Themitigation has been taken into account byme in determining the appropriate
starting pointforsentence after a trial and I have reduced thatstarting point
significantly, butthe leastsentence overallthatisinmy view appropriate after a trial
taking allthose factorsinto account would be a sentence of 20months
imprisonment. Ishallreduce thatto 15monthsin allto give the creditforthe plea of
guilty in accordance with theGuidelinesfor pleas of guilty and the time the pleas
were entered forthe reasonsI have indicated earlier. I have, accordingly reduced
each sentence by 25% to give that degree of creditfor your pleas of guilty.
The Sentence
The sentence ofthe Courtis asfollows:
For Count 1 ‐ 6monthsimprisonment
For Counts 2‐4 ‐ 3monthsimprisonment on each count concurrent
For Count 6 ‐ 15monthsimprisonment concurrent
For Counts 10 and 11 – 6monthsimprisonment on each count concurrent
For Counts 12, 13 and 14 – 9monthsimprisonment on each count concurrent
For Count 15 – 15monthsimprisonment concurrent
For Count 16 – 15monthsimprisonment concurrent
For Count 17 – 6monthsimprisonment concurrent
For Count 18 ‐ 9monthsimprisonment concurrent
Allsentencesto be concurrent amounting to 15monthsin all
Counts 5, 7, 8 and 9 will lie on the file on the usualterms notto be proceeded with
withoutthe leave ofthis court orthe Court of Appeal CriminalDivision.
I have considered whetherIshouldmake compensation ordersin this case to
compensate your victimsfor any personal injury or damage they have suffered.
Although itseems clearthatsome if not all of your victimsmay have suffered
psychological damage I do not considerthatI have sufficientinformation tomake a
finding and certainly not enough information to quantify any compensation.
Accordingly any of your victims who wish to claimcompensation should do so
through the civil courts orstatutory schemesif applicable.
You are a wealthyman. You will pay £11,522 towardsthe costs ofthe prosecution

[Ratty2E]

I was surprised at the 'light' sentence myself and no doubt some of his victims might have expected more. I think that to some one like him the fact he has been found out and publicly shamed is a large part of the punishment.

[andy-hughes]

I do not believe that age should ever be a factor in punishment.

How would we arrive at the cut-off point beyond which a wrong-doer is beyond the law - 60? 70? 80? No, it cannot be a fair system.

Neither does doing charity work as as a check and balance against appaling behaviour - but it has to be the best defence they could come up with against what in an indefensible crime.

Hopefully this odious egoist will fade away and endure what is a real punishment in his eyes - no longer being the centre of attention.

[cupotee]

I think he has got off very light.

"He referred to the 1,300 complainants in the Savile case and said: "Instead, in the dock today is a frightened and bewildered 83-year-old man answering for the touching - no more, no less - of all of 13, not 1,300, victims over a quarter of a century ago."

His Barrister compared it with the Jimmy Saville case....how dare he these girls were Stuart Halls victims not Savills.

IMO it doesn't matter that it happened over a 1/4 century ago it blo*dy happened and his punishment should reflect that.

I hope they all claim compensation from him now.