Colston Vandals Cleared

[fender62]

the judge just greenlighted it's ok to vandalise, if you don't like a statue or painting just knock it down or rip it up, history is there to be trodden on if it offends you...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10371949/BLM-protestors-not-guilty-criminal-damage-toppling-Edward-Colston-statue-Bristol.html

[New Judge]

//I think on C4 News earlier (probably available online somewhere) they said the claimed value of the damage (by the prosecution) was sufficiently high that the defence could ask for it to be tried in the Crown Court rather than a Magistrates' Court.//

That's the only explanation. £5k is the threshold for the matter to become "either way" and I'd never heard of that high a figure quoted. Hence my puzzlement.

The disadvantage for a defendant in a case like this being tried by Magistrates is that they have to give the reasons for their verdict in open court. Juries, of course, do not. A Bench of Magistrates might have some difficulty formulating reasons along the lines of "Well, they were banged to rights, but we didn't particularly like what the statue represented, so we'll acquit them."

[Peter Pedant]

why is everyone so outraged?
it is called jury nullification

ury nullification (US/UK), jury equity (UK), or a perverse verdict (UK) refers to when members of a criminal trial's jury believe that a defendant is guilty, but choose to acquit the defendant anyway. ... A defendant who is acquitted cannot in many jurisdictions be tried a second time for the same offence.

Clive Ponting was acquitted on the non-defence of public interest ( sinking of the Belgrano inter alios

so there is a jury verdict you dont like
so what?

[Ellipsis]

Here you go ...

https://www.channel4.com/news/colston-its-shameful-the-prosecution-was-ever-brought-in-the-first-place-says-defence-lawyer
Colston: ‘It’s shameful the prosecution was ever brought in the first place’, says defence lawyer
Lawyer Raj Chada successfully represented two of the four defendants, who have been cleared of causing criminal damage over the removal of the statue of Edward Colston.

[Ellipsis]

Oh, it's Youtube, so I can post it here ...

[Spicerack]

He would say that, wouldn't he.

[Ellipsis]

Yep, winners write the history ...

[Peter Pedant]

meritorious defendants as Tony Weir would say

(outraged cries of who "tony weir den" - "was Tony weir, weird?" (foo)
( er yeah actually)

[naomi24]

These morons weren’t on trial. Colston was - and with no defence.

[Deskdiary]

It's a given we don't know what occurred during the trial that resulted in the verdict being reached, and jury decisions in criminal trials do not set precedents, so it doesn't open the floodgates for vandalism, but this aside, surely it's rather odd, isn't it, that these people were filmed being involved, were seen involved, admitted they were involved in the damage, but were acquitted?

I find it very odd...but then it seems to me the jury were trying Colston himself rather than the four accused, and by acquitting they were passing sentence on Colston.

[dannyk13]

Pity that this particular judge wasn't sitting:-
//a judge can direct a jury to find someone guilty (as in the case of the man who decapitated the Thatcher statue)//

[THECORBYLOON]

In the Thatcher statue case, in spite of that Direction, the jury couldn't reach a majority decision and a re-trial followed.

[emmie]

it was a bad decision, shame on them.

[dannyk13]

Corby, what was the result of the re-trial?

[New Judge]

//a judge can direct a jury to find someone guilty (as in the case of the man who decapitated the Thatcher statue)//

A judge cannot direct a jury to find a defendant guilty under any circumstances, danny.. It would somewhat defeat the object of a jury trial if he could.

[Khandro]

All of them, (& me & you) are by ancestry in some way connected to slavery. If they went back into their family history, anyone from the early part of the 19th century & beyond who so much as put a spoonful of sugar in their tea or wore cotton was implicated in slavery.

The mistaken belief that vandalising a bronze statue is somehow correcting a past wrong is ludicrous. What took place in this court is a miscarriage of justice. Public property was vandalised & the perpetrators should pay, even in a token sense if you will, but getting off scot-free is shameful.

[THECORBYLOON]

Apologies, the Direction was that there could be a majority decision.

After the retrial, Paul Kelleher was given a three-month gaol sentence.

[tomus42]

The jury has made it's decision, probably on a majority vote. You may disagree with it, but if so look at it this way - you lost, get over it.

Naomi is right when she says there is scary lunacy going on in the world at the moment.

[naomi24]

//Edward Colston statue case could be sent to appeal court//

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-59909823

And so it should be.

[THECORBYLOON]

The verdict cannot be changed without new evidence.

[naomi24]

They could take a look at the footage of these morons doing their worst. They seem to have missed it the first time around.