How Does This Qualify As Manslaughter?

[ChillDoubt]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-28451635

To my mind, if you take a plastic bottle and a shoe to a 6 week old for the express purpose of causing injury and in all probability death it almost beggars belief to be cleared of murder.

Yet again we see someone who will get a sentence far less than what they desrve, of which they'll only serve half.
As ever, one hopes that proper prison justice will be meted out.

[tonyav]

Another one got of light imo, Chill.

[Slapshot]

Sick, but if he has the right lawyer with the right ideas then the worst in society seem to get away with whatever they want

[Canary42]

Unfortunately I think a good barrister could cast sufficient doubt into the minds of some jurors to defy the murder verdict, so rather than risk it the CPS went for the more likely one. I've sat on juries, and the average CPS barrister is pretty pathetic which doesn't help of course.

But it was certainly MURDER in my book.

[kvalidir]

Surely one of two things happened here either he didn't attack the baby which should have resulted in a ' Not guilty' to both charges or he did hit the baby with a shoe and a bottle. Now you could argue he 'only' intended to hurt him not kill him - hence the manslaughter option, but surely anyone, anyone at all knows if you hit a 6 week old baby with a bottle and a shoe its likely to die or at the very least be horrifically injured- therefore to me, it should be a murder conviction because most reasonable people would assume the baby would die. Horrific monster should rot.

[agchristie]

Did ten jurors fall asleep at the crucial moment?

[DaisyNonna]

Another travesty of justice

[Hypognosis]

Murder has to be demonstrably pre-meditated, does it not.
The news story does say that he asked her to make him a father very soon into the relationship and Alfie was not his.
When a new male lion takes over a pride, the first thing it does is kill the cubs.

(sincere apologies to all step-dads for that remark - it's not aimed at you)

[pixie373]

I can't understand at all how he got away with murder. Unbelievable.

[pixie373]

//Murder has to be demonstrably pre-meditated, does it not. //

how pre-meditated? Does sending the mother out, drinking excessively and picking up weapons count? It clearly wasn't self-defence, so I don't think that's much argument.

[Peter Pedant]

we don't know
we werent there
or at the trial
but it looks like they couldnt show intent - of any sort

[pixie373]

Unintended? I agree with kval's assessment of it.

[naomi24]

In law it qualifies - morally it's murder.

[ChillDoubt]

but it looks like they couldnt show intent - of any sort
---------------------------
Taking a bottle and a shoe to a tot looks like intent to me.
Forgive my demeaning of a most heinous crime, but they're hardly pacifiers, are they?

[jomifl]

As I understand it a criminal assault resulting in death (albeit unintended) is murder. So all that had to be decided is whether or not attacking a 6 week old baby with a shoe constitutes criminal assault. Not difficult is it?

[Hypognosis]

Can the mother appeal or it it stuck at manslaughter because of the way the CPS presented the case?

[Canary42]

I've just noticed - his father is a Magistrate - says it all really, friends in high places etc etc.

[Svejk]

must say he doesn't look like the usual blank-eyed types that accompany these stories.

[Hypognosis]

@svejk

Yes, it's been demonstrated, using actors, that, presented with identical evidence, a jury is more likely to let off the handsome one and convict the ugly one, so looks are clearly vital to our justice system.

[sp1814]

"must say he doesn't look like the usual blank-eyed types that accompany these stories"

???

[agchristie]

So we can presumably expect Pistorius to be acquitted then?!