Is Life This Cheap In 21St Century England?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2567496/Pictured-Shocking-moment-doting-son-killed-single-punch-head-row-cycling-pavement-killer-jailed-just-four-half-years.html

Four and half years that is all this thug got for killing a man, why can't such savages be made more of an example of?

[emmie]

don't know what to say, punch someone in anger, and the man hits his head on the ground. He won't serve that long..

from your link
Gill, who was jailed for four years after admitting manslaughter at Salisbury Crown Court last Friday, was also sentenced to two three-month prison terms to run consecutively after committing the crime while on a suspended sentence for robbery and for handling stolen goods.

[emmie]

he got four years for the manslaughter, the rest for the other crimes..

[andy-hughes]

The sentencing rules for manslaughter are a lot less harsh than for murder.

In law, the killing was not deliberate, so the sentence reflects that.

In a moral society, I would argue that more could be done to encompass a death caused by an unprovoked assault like this.

What is so callous is the way the surrounding individuals strolled away leaving this poor man lying unconcious in the road - now that is cold.

[emmie]

that is not what the report says, that bystanders rushed to his aid. i will reread it to make sure.

[emmie]

not unusual for people to walk off from perceived danger, but it says

The attack took place in a busy shopping area of Bournemouth, Dorset, and several passersby rushed to Mr Young’s aid.

[Gromit]

Yep. A life is cheap.

Texting motorists runs over milkman - 4 years
http://metro.co.uk/2007/03/14/teen-jailed-after-mowing-down-milkman-188516/

Speeding driver kills pedestrian - 21 months
http://www.4-traders.com/SUBARU-CO-LTD-14116341/news/SUBARU-CO-LTD--DRIVER-IS-JAILED-FOR-CAR-DEATH--Speeding-motorist-hit-pedestrian-17952959/

[andy-hughes]

That may be so afterwards, but if you play the clip, there is a woman with the cyclist and friend, and they all simply stroll off as though nothing has happened.

[emmie]

then surely it's not without merit to have better, longer sentencing, 4 years for killing a man, that means his life was worth almost nothing.

[Zeuhl]

/Is Life This Cheap/?

I don't see why the value of Mr Young's life should be determined by the sentence given to the man whose actions brought about his death?

/why can't such savages be made more of an example of?/

what does 'make an example of' actually mean? Is it an additionally punitive sentence over and above what the law says is appropriate for the offence in order to shock potential perpetrators into not doing the same?

There is no evidence that there is any deterrent value in such measures because in most cases people swinging a punch at someone do not expect to cause their death and that perception is unlikely to be altered by occasional distortions of the sentencing policies to satisfy armchair executioners.

[Gromit]

Or a life can sometimes be worthless.

A speeding lorry driver who admitted causing the death of a cyclist by careless and inconsiderate driving was given a 24-week suspended sentence by a court in Derbyshire today.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/article3383456.ece

[emmie]

those who walked off were involved, the cyclist, the man who threw the punch and the girl.

[emmie]

zeuhl, however look at the footage, the man who threw the punch, it was full on, not a tap, a shove, but a heavy blow, intended to hurt. The three walk off like nothing has happened. What sentence, well the thug has a suspended sentence hanging over him, for that he gets an extra few months.

[ToraToraTora]

I'd jail the savages for riding on the pavement!

[pixie373]

Unlike driving, the intention here WAS to injure someone. It seems very lenient.

[Zeuhl]

emmie and pixie

I would agree with that

[emmie]

well built young man hits older unfit individual, who dies of his injuries, hardly a four year crime.

[Zeuhl]

/who dies of his injuries/

The law takes into account that those injuries weren't caused directly by the punch

That allows it to distinguish between this and (say) someone who hits someone with a brick and kills them

[Gromit]

Speeding or texting while driving is dangerous driving and there is intent to commit that offence. The unfortunate death may not have been the intended consequence. If the dangerous driving results in a death, how can a suspended sentence be given. Punching someone the intent was not to kill them. The unintended consequence was falling on his head which probably caused the death.