How Do You Stop Worrying When Waiting...
Body & Soul0 min ago
potential section 18 GBH
hi, i think i am in trouble. at the weekend i was texting back and forth with an on-again/off-again girlfriend and the conversation lead to her saying she would find it quite kinky to use razor blades in the bedroom. after a bit of discussion, she came over and we talked for a while then ended up in the bedroom where a razor was produced and she cut along my chest. after which i ran the blade acorss her arm then down her back (not in an aggressive, retaliatory way but more playful tit-for-tat). at first she seemed to be okay with everything, then after a while she seemed a bit more freaked out by the blood. i said i had bandages and offered to clean her up, but she said she wanted to get it sorted properly, so after a bit of small talk, she left for the hospital. (seemed a bit of an over-reaction to me at the time, but she wanted to do it). the following morning i was woken up by police who arrested me for potential GBH with intent. As you might imagine, i scared witless now as it seems if she presses charges, it could be a section 18 offence which i hear has a minimum 4 year sentence if convicted, up to life imprisonment! (i dont have any prior criminal record). i have made statements saying the whole thing was consensual, but she is now saying that it wasnt (although apparently the medical report states that it was consensual, so a doctor must have signed that off?). Im terrified, please help!
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having looked through all the possible charges on the site, i think the most serious charge that could be laid against either of us would be wounding with intent (still section 18). Cuts of the nature that have been inflicted on both of us can be considered "wounds" by the cps (breaking of the continuity of the skin) and under either of the "with intent" charges (gbh or wounding) the actual seriousness of the injury is not the determining factor. If a charge of wounding with intent was not made, the next possible charge going down the hierarchy seems to be only common assault (the cuts may not be considered "serious" enough for ABH as stated earlier). But still, if they prosecute me, surely shes just as guilty?
i havent as yet. at the time i was so bewildered by what was happening, i didnt know what to do. since, my solicitor has advised me not to make a complaint as yet, as it may just p*ss the girl off and affect my case in a negative way. Ive been bailed until May 8th, where i have to go back and they shall inform me how they are going to proceed (charge/no charge/extended bail to gather more info etc). My solicitor has pretty much told to me to sit tight until then as there is nothing we can do for now. Once some more info has been gathered and depending on what she has said in her statement and what the cps plan to do, we will then make a decision on how to proceed.
i am still a little unsure as to the gravity of the charge though. As i have mentioned, the CPS defines a wound as a breaking of the continuity of the skin, and this IS the case in this instance, I have wounded her and the intent was present as it was done on purpose; but the full title of the charge of "wounding with intent" is actually wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and her medical record clearly states that the cuts were "superficial" so can hardly be considered GBH-type injuries going by their own definition of what constitutes these types of injuries. perhaps i should just stop looking all this stuff up and just wait patiently for the next decision as my solicitor suggests...
As you think, unless and until you actually get charged just sit tight, as there is nothing you can do. If you DO get charged then come back here and we will do as much as we can to help, we need the actual charge code eg , Section 20 or Section18 to be able to do much more.
Sorry if I have scared you, but I have worked as an adult literacy tutor inside a prison and I know what goes on.
Sorry if I have scared you, but I have worked as an adult literacy tutor inside a prison and I know what goes on.
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what category prisons have you worked in? ive been doing some research on the subject just in case the worst happens (god forbid it should actually come to that) and ive read that they assign you your category not on the nature of the crime you have committed, but on two factors; the first being how likely you are to try and escape, and the second being how much of a danger to society (or national security) you are if you were to escape. seeing as i have no prior criminal record and would be able to produce glowing character references and im not exactly the sort of person who is a menace to society (ive never even been in a fight, let alone been mixed up in anything more serious before!) i should have thought im a fairly "low risk" individual. any thoughts?
I worked in a Caterory D 'open' prison but those convicted of crimes involving violence are not usually considered for an open prison. In any case a newly convicted prisoner will have to go to a closed prison for the first part of their sentence, this is to allow the prison service to decide which caterory to put them in. In a case like yours I would expect you to be a category C after assesment IF you do get convicted .
Hi, I was charged with GBH section 18 for cutting my boyfriend with a knife. I also had a massive knife wound which was inflicted by him and was much deeper than his, however he had a few more cuts than me, all of which were only slight tears of the skin. However, due to him being a great liar and having more cuts than me the CPS decided to prosecute me and do nothing to him. You can read all the websites under the sun, when it comes down to it, the CPS do what they want. I eventually had to enter a guilty plea for a section 20 offence which meant i got a 9 month suspended sentence and a community order. If the CPS decide to prosecute you and not her i really dont think you have a chance of trying to come back with a counter charge as if they thought she had anything to be charged with they would have done it already. As everyone has advised, just make sure you have a good lawyer (cannot stress this enough)! I was let down by mine and you really dont want to end up in the same positiion! Good Luck
thanks for your contribution amac, I was sorry to hear about what happened to you. its a shame that you were convicted, although at least you didnt have to spend any time prison which is my greatest fear at the moment. i hope you dont mind me asking, but were the cuts inflicted aggressive/mutually "consenting" /done in a fit of rage etc as im trying to get a handle on how all this will be interpreted. my solicitor seems to be one of the best around (although its quite hard to truly know how "good" they are), so fingers crossed. the way im looking at it at the moment is that ANYTHING apart from actual time inside will be a blessing, although i should probably prepare myself for the worst, just in case.
well ive just heard from a friend thats spoken to the girl and she says that she has given her statement now and has told the police that she "wont be pursuing a prosecution". i know that its not really up to her from this point onwards, as its up to the CPS to decide how to proceed, but that must be something in my favour right?
Given what you say now, I would bet that the worse case scenario would be that you plead guilty to a S20 as amac did and get a 'suspended' or community service. S20 is very rarely a prison sentence and in your case even less likedly due to the mutual act. Be warned they may charge you with S18 but accept a guilty plea to S20 instead of a trial. This is known as a 'plea bargain' and if nessesary your solicitor will advise you about it. Also remeber there is an automatic 1/3rd off any sentence for an early guilty plea. So if for example you got 9 months suspended it would be reduced to 6 months. The same thing applies to community sentences so 150 hours would be reduced to 100 hours. Best of luck and please let us know what happens .
Dan,
There are two things here that are of utmost importance.
How serious are the injuries inflicted to your partner? And whether the correspondence between yourself and your partner, which took place prior to the incident, explicitly states that she proposed the use of razor blades and was comfortable with doing so.
If the injuries are in accordance with what one would expect from such a situation, and you can prove, unequivocally, that the idea was the complainant's, a custodial sentence will be highly unlikely.
It is correct, as others have stated, that consent has no bearing in a case concerning assault. However, a certain amount of common sense will be applied. It is my opinion, having briefly read your post, that a custodial sentence is highly unlikely.
There are two things here that are of utmost importance.
How serious are the injuries inflicted to your partner? And whether the correspondence between yourself and your partner, which took place prior to the incident, explicitly states that she proposed the use of razor blades and was comfortable with doing so.
If the injuries are in accordance with what one would expect from such a situation, and you can prove, unequivocally, that the idea was the complainant's, a custodial sentence will be highly unlikely.
It is correct, as others have stated, that consent has no bearing in a case concerning assault. However, a certain amount of common sense will be applied. It is my opinion, having briefly read your post, that a custodial sentence is highly unlikely.
What you say about consent is correct in principle; someone who slapped someone else in a playful exchange, or two men who agree to box one another, could not be said to be guilty of assault; but the problem is one of degree.The law doesn't allow serious violence and injury whatever the parties think.
It's a matter for your barrister; s18 requires a Crown Court hearing, so a barrister would be engaged ; whether this 'consensual' wounding falls into the permissible category of consensual harm (don't raise your hopes).
If not, on the evidence available, then you'll have to plead guilty to something. The prosecution might accept a plea to the lesser offence of s20 wounding, rather than insisting on s18 wounding with intent, since it can be argued that you didn't intend the really serious harm, which intent that section requires or,less likely, that the injuries weren't sufficiently serious (it's the intent, not the consequences of the assault that matters).
Even s20 here may attract instant custody. On you version, you have some mitigation to put forward viz. the consensual arrangement, supported by medical evidence of injury to you. It's not an assault like an unprovoked attack , for example
It's a matter for your barrister; s18 requires a Crown Court hearing, so a barrister would be engaged ; whether this 'consensual' wounding falls into the permissible category of consensual harm (don't raise your hopes).
If not, on the evidence available, then you'll have to plead guilty to something. The prosecution might accept a plea to the lesser offence of s20 wounding, rather than insisting on s18 wounding with intent, since it can be argued that you didn't intend the really serious harm, which intent that section requires or,less likely, that the injuries weren't sufficiently serious (it's the intent, not the consequences of the assault that matters).
Even s20 here may attract instant custody. On you version, you have some mitigation to put forward viz. the consensual arrangement, supported by medical evidence of injury to you. It's not an assault like an unprovoked attack , for example
