the law in uk

[chezzie]

my friend was a victim in a unprevoked attack with the result being he suffered multiple skull fractures,3 brain bleeds ,a stroke,80percent loss of hearing and permenant brain damage.These injuries have left him with a total personality change thus being very aggresive,insecure,scared of being left alone,and we have been told that he must not be left alone as it could prove fatal for him as he is unable to care for himself.The lad that caused these injuries is only 17 he used a knuckle duster and then left my friend for dead.He is being charged with section 18 with intent,will his age make a difference to the sentence he will receive this his his first offence of this kind but not his first offence in general.what kind of sentence is he looking at receving.

[ummmm]

England/Wales
Within England/Wales, criminal responsibility is considered the age of 10 years. This is when a child becomes criminally responsible for their actions and the consequences of their actions. From this age onwards, they can be prosecuted for any criminal offence in a Youth Court. In exceptional circumstances, most notably the case of the murder of James Bulger in Liverpool in 1993, children can be tried as an adult in an adult court.
From the age of 17 onwards, individuals are then considered an adult in the eyes of the law. Therefore, all punishment given by the courts or other law enforcement agencies will rest solely upon them.

^^^^ from Wiki

[Answerprancer]

I am - according to the less tolerant members of this site a 'leftie' a 'pinko', a 'hand wringing liberal' etc. but this kind of thing warrants a life sentence IMO - UK is faaaar too lenient and pathetic when it concerns violent crime, particularly unprovoked violent assaults.

[wildwood]

Sentencing lengths for this type of crime is very uncertain, it depends on the Judge's frame of mind and whether his toast was cold at breakfast.
Unfortunately, no amount of punishment for the thug is going to make any difference to the health your friend.
I am not generally one for betting but I would put money on it that this thug is going to continue his reign of terror after his sentence (if he gets on). He will be among the tough guys in jail and will come out with more tricks that he went in with.
So unless he gets as AP suggests, a proper life sentence, he will only cause more misery to others.
I don't subscribe to the poor parenting environment etc. so often offered as an excuse. Those thugs know very well that this behavior is unacceptable and the only way to prevent them afflicting their monstrous action on Society is to lock them up securely for ever.

[VHG]

Not that I am doubting your description of the attack, but why would a person do an unprovoked attack on another person with a knuckle duster?

Was there a reason he picked on your friend, or was it genuinely unprovoked?

[sandyRoe]

Unprovoked attacks are more common than we think. My niece and her husband were attacked by young drunks in the street just before Christmas.
Whatever sentence the assailant mentioned in the OP gets, it won't be long enough.

[richtee]

Amen to wildwoods answer. When are we going to wake up to the damage this type of human scum do to our society, both personally and financially. When are the highly paid
members of the legal system going to start doing the job we pay them for, , why do we continue to tolerate the failures of the system and the people who administer it?