And Yet More Mental Illness!

[sp1814]

Do you think that this was taken into account when the judge decided against a custodial sentence?

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/08/24/man-who-sent-homophobic-death-threats-to-gay-mp-ben-bradshaw-spared-jail/

Turning his attention on the parliamentarian, he shouted a number of homophobic jibes, called him 'evil', threatened to kill him and repeatedly challenged Mr Bradshaw to call the police.

Just a few days after Jo Cox was gunned down by another right wing terrorist...with mental issues.

[EDDIE51]

I agree he is/was mad rather than bad. I do not see what a jail sentence would achieve. Under the circumstances I think the sentence was correct.

[wolf63]

he sounds like a nice chap - not

if he is unwell or just a nasty person he will consider the suspended sentence as no punishment.

there are many people who dislike gays, fatties, Scots, gingers etc etc but it does not give them the right to act like thugs

[EDDIE51]

He was sentenced to 12 weeks. So if it was not suspended he would get an automatic 1/3 deduction for his guilty plea, that drops it to 8 weeks. Then there is automatic release at the half way point so he would be out in 4 weeks. Then he would get 'home detention curfew or Tag' for the final month of his sentence. All taken into account if he had got a non suspended jail sentence he would have been released immediately after sentence and only served a month 'on tag' at home. So the suspended sentence is actually far more of a punishment than a normal jail sentence! He can be arrested if he breaks the terms of his suspended sentence and made to serve the full term without remission.

[jno]

I don't know if any evidence of his issues was given in court, or if the judge was just supposed to take his lawyer's word for it. In other cases where this has been used as a justification, there seems to have been evidence in the form of previous hospitalisation etc. I don't see any mention of it in this report.

[sp1814]

jno

That's a good point. I assume that his lawyer would have to produce evidence of previous mental illness treatment.

I assume that there are certain details that can't be released in court reports?

Must've been genuinely scary for Bradshaw, coming so soon after Jo Cox's murder.

[EDDIE51]

He was arrested back on June 17th so I am sure there will have been medical reports made and sent into court. It was obvious from the time of arrest that mental problems were a strong possibility.

[sp1814]

divebuddy

Mentally ill is a very broad term which encompasses those who have been treated for anxiety attacks on one end, to paranoid schizophrenics on the other.

Justice meted out will take into account the condition. It would foolish to treat absolutely everyone who had suffered periods of mental illness exactly the same.

[sp1814]

divebuddy

Making things up?

Strewth.

[EDDIE51]

There are people whose mental state is so bad they are not responsible for their own actions. But that category is very rare. Such a person will be sectioned and/ or sent to a secure mental hospital (such as Broadmoor )
Most offenders are not that bad but their mental state played a part in their crime. This is one such case.

[EDDIE51]

divebuddy Terrorists (either right wing, left wing or neither) and the mentally ill are two separate categories of person. In general a terrorist is not mentally ill and a mentally ill person is not a terrorist but the two are not mutually exclusive!

[Togo]

Mentally ill my foot. Give him a proper term in jail, you know one where he can get fit and focused, then let him out.