Happy Slappy Killers

[Drusilla]

The four young killers of gay barman, David Morley, have been convicted of manslaughter and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

Chelsea O' Mahoney (16) was believed to have recorded the incident on her mobie phone was jailed for 8 years. Reece Sargeant (21), Darren Case (18) and David Blenman (17) were each sentenced to 12 years and told they would have to serve three quarters of their sentence, minimum. This means the oldest, Sargeant, could be out when he's 30.

Are the public really happy with this level of sentencing and if not, what can be done to 'let the punishment fit the crime', more appropriately?

Is it possible for ordinary people to change this system, or are we content?

[stevie21]

I was surprised by the brevity of the sentences and see it as evidence that we'd benefit from minimum terms for certain crimes.
Judges argue against this by saying that their discretion is removed and they're unable to take mitigating factors into account if there's a minimum sentence but this case seems to show that their discretion leads to lenient sentences. If they could show themselves consistently able to apply sentences that matched the crime then there'd be no calls for minimum sentencing.

These people went out to assault someone for fun and callously took someone's life. This is a horrible crime and I can't see any mitigating circumstances at all. There wasn't any temporary insanity, finding your wife with another man etc.

Part of the reason that I think that such short sentences are given is that judges are desensitised to brutal crimes and they're no longer shocked to see it. "Habituation is the simplest form of learning" accoring to tomes of psychology literature. Judges are just used to seeing "another" incidence of such brutality.

rant over.

[noxlumos]

Goodsoulette, I think it's fairly safe to assume that Myra hindley will never use her open university degrees... she's been dead for quite a while.

[Goodsoulette]

Has she..... you know neither of us knew that. What about Barry White someone told me he was dead, is that true.. I never get the dead alive game right

[Insurgent]

Unfortunately in the UK we have a law system and not an actual justice system. Looking at the pictures did anyone get any clockwork orange vibes Burgess/Kubrick errily knocking the nail right on the head.

[jedda]

sentences don't reflect the crimes anyway, then we give them time off for good behaviour, if you get six years for a crime then that should be the starting point, then time added on if you don't behave or appear to be mending your ways.