Will Cornick Can Be Named As The Killer Of The Teacher, Judge Rules.

[sandyRoe]

Is this a good or bad thing?

[Zacs-Master]

Jeez. You don't have think he is ill. He IS ill. That's why the judge saw fit to hand down the sentence he did. Unfortunately it's an illness which is rarely cured. If ever.

[andy-hughes]

I don't really think that providing the death penalty for mentally ill people is the action of a civilised society.

[sandyRoe]

^ That is more likely to happen in the USA and some MIddle Eastern countries.

[ludwig]

I don't think we should waste too much time wondering about why he did what he did, and whether we can 'help him' to get better.
The fact is he did it, and anyone that can do such a thing will always be dangerous, and should never see the outside of a prison.

If he drops dead in the near future and saves us a load of money, so much the better.

[EDDIE51]

One of the news reports said he should not have even been in the school.
He had been suspended for making threats against the teacher. What is the truth?

[andy-hughes]

New Judge - "Oh dear, how sad, never mind. It could be argued that anybody who stabs a 61 year old woman in the back for no good reason may be ill."

This is not worthy of you in my view.

There are plenty of people who stab people because they are simply nasty, or selfish, or cruel, or angry, or drunk, or drugged ... the list goes on.

Media reports suggest that there is a very strong indication of mental illness here - and that does not really deserve a '... how sad, never mind ...' for any of the people affected by this tragedy.

[anneasquith]

where are the media reports that there was a strong indication of mental illness concerning this person ?

[janbee]

It won't make a scrap of difference to Anne McGuires family. Naming and shaming won't bring the lady back What repulses me is the fact that this little **** has never at any time shown any remorse. He seems to b almost boasting about it." I HAD to do it, it was kill or be killed"

[andy-hughes]

janbee - "What repulses me is the fact that this little **** has never at any time shown any remorse. He seems to b almost boasting about it." I HAD to do it, it was kill or be killed"

Hardly the behaviour of a rational mind is it?

Exactly - the youth is seriously mentally ill.

[ludwig]

// Media reports suggest that there is a very strong indication of mental illness here //

I can't see any mention of psychiatric assessment coming into play, and it doesn't appear to have been used as a mitigating factor by his defence. Neither was it a factor in his sentencing. We therefore have to conclude that he's just committed a despicable murder for his own reasons.

[ummmm]

Of course he's mentally ill. Saying 'Kill or be killed' is not something someone of sound mind would say.

I doubt he'll ever be released. People get institutionalised very very quickly.

[Peter Pedant]

// Definition of braggadocio from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary with audio pronunciations, thesaurus,//

so did I ( think there were two c s in braggadocio ) but there isnt

( bit like the accents in resume )

No I thought naming was OK
He has shown malice - is over 16 and shows no remorse

[Peter Pedant]

// Hardly the behaviour of a rational mind is it?//

prisons are full of people who are not very rational but that does not mean that a defence of insanity or its modern variants will get up and run

The defence of 'you have to mad to do something like this' has been tried and the judge basically said: send him dooooooown...

[ummmm]

I don't think mental illness should have any reflection on his sentence. He needs locking up and kept away from society for as long as possible.

[ludwig]

Some people apply the following kind of logic..

You'd have to be insane to do this, therefore the fact he's done it proves he's insane. QED.

..it's not a test I personally agree with.
I think sometimes people just do despicable things. Psychopaths know the difference between right and wrong, and that there are rules they need to obey, whether they personally agree with them or not. That's why they don't get special dispensation from assignment of guilt or subsequent punishment when they commit horrible crimes.

[New Judge]

I'm sorry you dislike my attitude, Andy, but this individual has been shown to be simply evil. He has had copious psychometric assessments and all have concluded that he is not mentally ill but is simply a psychopath (which is not classed as a mental illness). He had control of his faculties, he knew what he was doing, knew it was wrong but carried out the deed nonetheless.

My suggestion that it could be argued that anyone committing such a crime was ill was just that - a suggestion. Many people might put forward that argument. I do not believe he is ill, neither did the judge (who had access to all the reports). He was sentenced accordingly and my sympathies lie with the victim’s family and not with him at all. Sometimes we just have to accept that people commit serious crimes and they have to be dealt with accordingly.

[andy-hughes]

ummmm - "I don't think mental illness should have any reflection on his sentence. He needs locking up and kept away from society for as long as possible."

I would not dispute the need for this young man to be incarcerated for the safety of society.

But the reason for locking him up, and the place in which he is locked up is the issue here.

Sticking him in a mainstream prison could possibly lead to him killing again. Putting him in a secure psychiatric facility where he can be suitably monitored and potentially treated - if not to the level of safety for release - has to be the humane and civilised choice of location.

[ummmm]

Andy - I worked in a secure psychiatric facility. Far too easy in my opinion.

[andy-hughes]

ummmm - "Andy - I worked in a secure psychiatric facility. Far too easy in my opinion."

It appears then, that you think his incarceration in a psychiatric facility would be a 'punishment', and a lenient one at that.

From his behaviour up to and including the trial, I would suggest that this young man is showing all the signs of being a sociopath, so the notion of a 'punishment' would be pointless, since he appears to have no concept of having done wrong.

My point remains, for the safety of any prison population, he needs to be kept in a secure facility where he cannot harm anyone else - I don't think the notion of that being 'easy' or not comes into it - but I do not have your experience so I am not speaking from a sound position on that score.

[New Judge]

There are four potential aims of criminal sentencing, Andy: Rehabilitation; Prevention of Crime; Reparation and Punishment. So -

This individual clearly has no intention of engaging in his rehabilitation (an essential requirement for it to succeed).

If he cannot be prevented from committing further crime whilst in prison he most certainly cannot be prevented from doing so whilst at large. I cannot quite fathom out why we should not send him to prison for fear that he might harm other prisoners but we may send him to secure psychiatric accommodation where he may harm other patients. It is up to the prison authorities to protect their inmates.

Even if he wanted to (which he does not) he cannot undertake any form of reparation. His victim is dead and I doubt her family wants anything to do with him.

That just leaves punishment. It is often overlooked in all the pscho-babble that surrounds cases such as this that the most serious of crimes warrant the most serious of punishments regardless of the needs and requirements of the perpetrator. So never mind all the other guff. This boy is not ill, he knew what he was doing and is simply a murdering piece of excrement. For once we should simply concentrate on the victim's family, think of the wider population who have no wish to see a homicidal maniac released to wander amongst them, ignore his requirements and simply lock him up. Job done. Whether or not he understands why he is there is irrelevant because, as I have said, his requirements are not paramount. Punishment most certainly would not be pointless because that’s what the public expects from its deal with the State.